White One
by OptimisticTheory
Summary: A newcomer arrives in Forks and strikes up a friendship with the packs. But nothing is ever what is seems. Jacob/OC Pro BD.
1. Prologue

**Hi all! First Twilight fan-fic, I'm not a big fan of it, but I do love be some Jacob Black hotness! Here goes. Oh and, DISCLAIMER: every recognizable character in this belongs to Meyer, I own plot and OC's.**

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><p>Prologue<p>

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><p>She tugged on the hoodie's black sleeve, making sure it went all the way down to her thumb and tugged up the hood before she pushed through the door. She tried to disappear in the sea of people that flooded the halls, keeping her head low, trying very hard to be inconspicuous, or better, invisible. She got to her locker fine, no one spoke to her or touched her, yet. Switching a couple of books from her messenger bag, she gently closed the locker door and slowly turned and leaned against it. She took out her waterbottle and sipped it, trying to find the least hazardous path to her first class. Sighing, she started making her way forward as the bell rang. She was the last to enter the classroom, but was still before the teacher. She tried to make it all the way to the back of the room, to occupy the only unoccupied table, her table. But a leg shot out in front of her, far to fast and close for her to react and she hit the floor hard, hurting her knees and wrists. She winched as a sharper pain flooded up through her arm from her left wrist. The class burst out laughing, the guy who's leg had felled her high five'd the guy next to him. No one said a word to her though, as she scrambled to her feet, clenching her teeth as she turned around and raised her fist. Before she could think, rage took over and just as the teacher walked through the door, her knuckles connected to the leg-guy's jaw, throwing him into his friend's side.<p>

"TALAE LITTLECREEK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"

She didn't hear her at first, her teeth were bared as the guy stared at her unbelievingly, holding his jaw.

"LITTLECREEK!", she turned to her teacher this time, saw the furious look on her face and knew what came next. The teacher hurriedly scribbled something on a lap of paper, "Principles office, NOW!"

Talae stepped forward and shakily took the note from the raging old woman and started for the door, head down, rubbing her wrist through her sleeve.

"Fat bitch..." she heard whispered, probably from the guy she hit, maybe from his friend, she couldn't tell, but it still hurt.

She walked through the empty hallways. Being thirteen, insecure and overweight was far from easy. More borderlining on suicide-worthy, with what she had to endure practically anywhere but home. Though, she had lost some of that "babyfat" lately...

She rubbed her wrist. As she was alone in the hallway, she dared pulling up her sleeve to inspect the damage. Five linear cuts crossed her left wrist. They'd already turned into pink slits, all closed up and they were only aching, not stinging anymore. She frowned. That was fast. Way too fast.

She stopped at the door labled "Receptions Office" and grudgingly made her way inside. She took a glance at the front-desk. The secretary looked at her with an eyebrow raised, as if to say "You stupid kid", and jerked her head towards another door with "Hammond Jones, Principle" written in black across the glasswindow in it. She sighed and took a seat beside the door, dropping her bag between her feet.

She'd been here before, sure, mostly for the same reason. But lately her anger-outbursts had gotten worse, more frequent, more... powerful. She didn't even feel the hit, her knuckles didn't hurt as they had before, but she'd bet on that kid turning up with a big fat bruise tomorrow. Maybe it was because she didn't feel so good, her mom did say she'd been sporting a fever this morning, though she didn't feel all that sick, more like.. pressured. Yeah, that was it. Maybe...

Oh, her mom was going to be maaaaad...

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><p><strong>So, write me what you think, should I continuenot continue?**

**Talae is pronounced Tah-lay**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hello! Another chapter for you :)**

**Enjoy.**

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><p>Chapter One<p>

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><p>She rocked her head softly back and forth to the beat in her ears, moving her fingers to the guitar riffs, even though she didn't know two bits about playing a guitar, much less an electric one. Maybe she'd go into air-guitaring.<p>

The music blasted from her headphones, shutting all other sound out, so of course she didn't hear her mother when she said "We're almost there honey", continueing to stare out of the window at the green scenery. Evergreens everywhere, thick forests and cloudy skies, everything very characteristic of Washington. Snow covered the ground and trees, though the roads were clear, indicating that it'd been a few days since the last time it had snowed. She sensed her mom look back at her from the front seat, rolling her eyes at her daughter when she didn't respond.

She sat in a black tank and skinny jeans with holes in the knees from overuse. She didn't mind the cold. Mind, or feel, whatever. A few houses moved past her vision of sight before they drove onto Forks itself. They would have lived on the reservation, but Forks was closer to her parents new workplace, Forks Hospital.

Disturbed's "_Inside The Fire_" ended. She looked at the display of her new, purple iPod Nano and flipped through the oncoming songs till it hit Killswitch Engage's "_Arms of Sorrow_", turning back to look out the window as the music spilled into her kranium. She'd gotten the iPod on the 13th of january, a week ago, as a means of telling her "well, we're moving to another state in week, pack your stuff, glad you like the iPod!". To tell the truth, she didn't really mind the moving, she wasn't leaving anything behind. Only a couple of shallow friends, who'd only talked to her since she had that growth-spurt four years ago, losing a lot of weight and growing four inches up in the process, which made her a 5'9" lean, mean, killing-machine.

Oh, and a crappy ex-boyfriend, who'd only talked to her for the same reasons, realizing she actually was kinda pretty. Too bad he was as superficial as her phony friends. Nope, no one important left behind.

It was a lot smaller than Anchorage, Alaska, but it would do. A big city wouldn't fit well with her nature and she was forever thankful to her parent for seeking jobs in a place like this. Her father was almost, if not as, excited as she was. He'd been born and raised on the reservation, full part Quileute. They'd both moved to Alaska when they had married 20 years ago, so her mom could be closer to her family, a small Inuit tribe in northern Alaska.

It was also a place to start anew. Maybe, things would be alright here. Her dad told her the Quileutes knew things, things about her.. gift. When the change first began, her mom's people had tried to help, but they hadn't had such an occurance in a couple of generations now and they already knew of the Quileutes, urging her to go there instead. Unfortunately, it took them a good four years to find both a new home and jobs for both parents. She'd gotten used to it by then, gotten control over it. She'd had to figure out things on her own, and she did, no matter how dangerous and fearful it had been. Her parents were terrified of her at first, but they had rather quickly gotten over the initial fear and confusion and tried to help her in anyway they could. They had both known of the legends and tales of each their native origins, so that had helped as a starting point.

She felt the car slow down so she slid the headphones under her chin, around her neck and shut off the music.

"Are we there?" she asked, pulling herself forward by the seat in front of her, looking through the drivers window.

"Yes we are. See, its the sandy one on the left" her mom pointed as her dad did a u-turn, bringing them to the curb in front of their new home. It was a two storey wooden house on a brick foundation, not counting the basement. The top floor wouldn't be as big as the lower, due to the triangular roof, but a small attachment on the side of the house would more than make up for it. A few steps led up to the front door and wide porch with a white-painted wood railing, the same railing as was used on the large balcony above the porch.

They parked a bit behind the moving-truck, which was already being emptied by bulky, potbellied men with suspenders and flannel shirts. She inspected the house from her window. It didn't look half bad. The front steps would need a little touch-up and the driveway and gravel path to the house would need to be paved, her dad would have something to do in his spare-time. The yard wasn't much to look at, she could see the top of a bare willow behind the house, the yard was all grass, well, snow right now, but come springtime her mom would have it blooming and blossoming, green and sprouting.

Her dad looked back at her from the driver's seat and grinned at her before he practically flew out of the car, her mom following close behind. She shook her head with a small smile and joined them on the sidewalk.

"Here we are darlings, Zepeda Rd., Forks", her dad drew her and her mom to him, giving them both a one armed hug.

"Geez dad, relax, it's not even furnished yet", Tala poked him in the ribs and he let her go, and kissed him wife on the cheek instead. He then went to help the movers.

"You like it?", her mom laid a hand on her shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze, "Maybe you'll finally have a place to fit in".

Talae gently rubbed her shoulder with the white-inked Quileute tribal tattoo, smiling as she circled the outline and gave her mom a reassuring hand-squeeze, "Maybe".

A kiss on the cheek was her only answer, as her mom went to help her husband with the delicate stuff. Knowing him, he'd break every lamp and vase if she didn't bud in.

Streching, Talae went to put on her headphones again, but thought the better of it and turned the iPod to full volume instead, blaring a mixed Linkin Park playlist. She grabbed a thin, red zip-up shirt from the backseat and shimmied into it, keeping up appearances for a little while longer. With her music in her pocket she made her way around the house, trying to take in everything. It was a small neighborhood, far between the houses and their back yard ebbed out into the woods.

She reached the backside of the house, sure enough a tall willow-tree stood a little off to the side and another, smaller porch, same white railing was attached to the house' backside. The snow was a good foot deep and she was actually glad she'd been smart enough to put on her Harley Davidson boots as they went up to her mid-shin, saving her jeans from the wetness and uncomfort. She looked around her, finding pretty much everything to her liking, though she was normally not hard to please. Yep, this was quite alright.

She went back around the front and got her messenger bag out of the car, before she went on inside the house itself. She quickly stepped over the front door step, sidestepping away from two movers who were carrying their comfy old, black leather sofa. It was a fairly large house. One bedroom with a connecting bathroom, master bathroom and a nice big lounge area. The attachment she'd seen from the front was a big kitchen with an island, all done in white wood and dark granite, and space enough for a long dinner-table. She jogged upstairs, down a hall, seeing the two bedrooms and two bathrooms as she went. At the end was a smaller lounging spot and a glass-door sided with big windows, leading to the balcony out front. The view was nice, overlooking the small neighborhood.

She ran back downstairs to find both her parents in the lounge, her dad helping with furniture, her mom carrying boxes.

"I call the downstairs bedroom!", she announced, staring at them both with wide eyes, daring them to deny her.

Her dad was suprisingly the first to cave, "Oh, alright. You are 17, you need some space and beside, you got to have a place to keep all your crap", he said with a smirk.

She stuck out her tongue at him and gave him a quick hug before running to her new room, dumping her bag there, only to run out to their car and start carrying boxes of her "crap" back to it.

It'd taken them a couple of hours setting up all the major furniture, the time now being 17:14. Her mom was done decorating the living-room and had moved on to the kitchen, and she could hear her dad moving about upstairs. She took a quick water-break from putting up posters, having pretty much everything else in her room in place.

"Here honey", her mom handed her a glass from the box she was currently unpacking.

"Thanks", she took the glass from her and filled it with nice, cold tapwater, and took a drink. Oh, yeah, just what she needed.

"Done with your room?"

"Yeah, almost. Just missing some _wallcrap_" Talae said with a smirk, before she chugged the rest of the water.

"Haha", her mom returned the smirk, "Hey, you wanna run to the store for me? I don't think the snacks your father brought at that truckstop is gonna be a very fulfilling dinner". She placed the last of the glasses in one of the top cabinets and moved on to utensils.

"Sure, where the keys at?", she placed her glass down by the sink and wiped the corner of her mouth with her sleeve.

"I believe your father has them".

"'Aight, Imma be right back!" she exclaimed running upstairs. She stopped in the door way to her parents new bedroom and saw her dad hammering nails into the wall for pictureframes.

"Dad, I need the car keys, mom's sent me on a foodrun", she breathed, hoping he had gotten it, she hated repeating herself.

"What wrong with what we got at the truckstop?" He looked at her skeptically.

Rolling her eyes and crossing her arms she gave him the same skeptical look, "Dad, I for one cannot live of pretzels and chips, not even until tomorrow, get your head out of your butt".

Sighing he pulled the keys from his front pocket and tossed them to her. She almost didn't wait for them to land in her hand before she sped down the stairs and through the frontdoor, snapping the piece of paper and a 50 dollar bill from her mom that she held out for her on the way.

The car was empty from all her stuff, fortunately. She plugged her iPod into the car-stereo and blasted some Slipknot while opening the driversseat window. The heavy, metal tones soothed her ears and she reved the engine to life and started down the road. Five minutes later she hit what would be considered "downtown" Forks. She pulled into the parkinglot of Ron's Food Mart, earning a few odd looks before she turned off the stereo, re-plugged her headphones to the 'pod and pulled them over her ears. She stepped out of the car and almost trotted inside.

Looking over the scribbled list of groceries she decided on a basket instead of a cart. They'd go food-supplying tomorrow, this was just the bare necessities... and dinner. Steak, potatoes, a variety of veggies and fruit for later. She went for the produce section first, scooping up a solid bag of potatoes, a bag of carrots, a stick of broccoli, a net of red apples and a few pears. She had wanted strawberries, or blueberries, but what are you going to do in the middle of january.

Walking by a stand with sweets, she suspisciously looked around, as if her parents were spying on her, but being satisfied that no one looked her way, she grabbed a super size of Sour Skittles, cackling evilly on the inside. She then walked towards the raw meats, completely relying on her sense of smell. Oh, she could almost taste that sweet red meat, just melting on her tongue. She almost drooled. She turned around a corner and the white and metallic refrigerated counter came into view.

A slim, lean girl with short raven hair that lightly grazed her jaw stood by the counter. She was wearing a beige figure-fitting t-shirt, washed baggy jeans and black sneakers. Her skin was a light copper and smooth-looking. Talae pretty much sneaked around the counter so she stood opposite of the coppery girl. She sneaked a peak at her face. She had a strong jaw and full lips and fierce brown eyes. It was very clear she was of Native origin. An intricate black tribal tattoo on her shoulder quickly caught Talaes eye. _Hmm, that looks familiar_. She stiffled a gasp as realisation hit her, bringing it out as a wierd cough instead. The girl glanced at her briefly before returning to read the different lables of different packages of meat.

Talae pulled down her headphones and shuffled a little closer, now standing about three feet from copper-girl, and sniffed the air a few times. A subtle familiar, yet very unknown scent hit her smack in the face and she wouldn't have caught it if she hadn't been smelling for it. A sudden wave of almost childish excitement jiggled through her system and a sudden urge to wag her behind had to be suppressed.

The girl slowly lifted her gaze and gave her a rather disturbed look. In turn she sniffed the air like Talae had and her brown eyes widened considerably. Acting as if nothing had happened Talae went to stand infront of her, keeping her eyes on the raw meat. She picked up six juicy-looking red steaks, licking her lips as she put them in her basket. She cautiously looked up and caught Copper's eyes. She straightened her back and stuck out her hand, fighting all her inner insecurities and social problems, and offered the girl a smile.

"Hi, I'm new in town. Talae Littlecreek".

The girl eyed the outstretched hand for a second before firmly shaking it in greeting, "Leah Clearwater, hi".

Talae grinned at her, and a small smile tucked on the corners of Leahs mouth.

"So, uhm, I hope this isn't too forward, but do you live on the reservation?" she sheepishly scratched the back of her head.

"Yeah, with my mom and lil' brother", Leah brushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"Cool. So, you're like, Quileute right?", she hoped she wasn't being too forward, starting to fidget with the zipper on her shirt. Her eyes flicked over Leahs own basket, her conviction a little stronger as it was stuffed with red meats and poultry.

"Yes I am. Are you... from around here?" Leah had caught her looking at her wares, and eyed hers suspiciously.

"No no, just moved here from Anchorage, up in Alaska... My dad's from around here though, Will Littlecreek?", she didn't expect her to know him, the girl looked around her own age.

"Oh god, Will Littlecreek is your dad? Wow, freaky. Uhm, yeah my mom has mentioned him, we get your Christmas cards, she knows him from her schooldays" Leah was slightly confused now, but she didn't let it faze her.

"Wicked" Talae grinned at her again and Leah caught sight of her sharp, almost pertruding canines, "so, uhm, I gotta go, but it was nice meeting you Leah, I hope to see you again".

She gave her a small wave and made her way around the counter towards the check-out area. She stood in line with three people ahead of her, she leaned on her right leg and waited patiently. She felt Leah come up behind her, close enough that she could smell her. She was quite certain she knew what Leah was, but apparently it wasn't vice versa.

She heard Leah sniff her a couple of more times.

She checked out with change to spare and carried the two plastic bags towards the car. She placed them on the back seat and went to get in the drivers seat.

"Hey Talae, wait up!".

She turned and saw Leah jogging up with her own groceries in tow. Talae smiled at her.

"So, do you like live on the rez or what?" Leah asked, looking rather awkward.

"No, close though. We moved into a house on the westside of Forks, it's a 15 minute drive from La Push" she responded with another smile.

"Oh, cool... Okay, well, we're having a bonfire tonight down by the Council center, the whole tribe basically... Maybe you and your family'll want to join us? See a few familiar faces?", she tugged on a piece of hair and twirled it around her index-finger.

"That'd be awesome, thank you! I dunno about my parents, but I'll definitely be there", Talae flashed her wolfish teeth and almost jumped with glee.

Leah smiled at her, "Great! It's at nine, just wear warm clothes, I'll see you there". She waved and turned to leave.

"Oh, yeah, like I'll be needing that", she muttered under her breath, and saw Leah stop for a second before moving on.

She hurried home, dropping the groceries on the counter where her mom was now putting away pots and pans.

"Hi sweety, what's the hurry?".

Talae explained to her the encounter with Leah and the bonfire invitation, almost jumping out of her clothes with excitement.

"Oh thats great honey! If you'd unpack the rest of these boxes I'll start dinner so we can make it there on time", she indicated to a pair of taped up cardboard boxes and took out the untensils for making their dinner.

She quickly finished unpacking the rest of the kithcen, leaving it to her mom to decorate it as she went to go find her dad. She climbed the stairs and followed his scent, leading her to the glassdoor for the balcony. She stepped outside and found her dad arranging wicker furniture in the snow. He heard her open the door and she quickly explained the plans for that night.

"Thats nice hon. I wonder if any of the ol' guys still live around here.." he looked to be in deep thought for a second, "anyways, call me when its food time".

She left him out in the snow and went to put up the rest of her posters.

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><p><strong>Write me what you think!<strong>


	3. Chapter 2

**Hello again, another chapter if you like :) Thanks for all the reviews!**

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><p>Chapter Two<p>

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><p>"Mmh, thanks mom, that was <em>dee-lish"<em>, she stiffled a burp and took a large gulp of water.

"You're welcome pumpkin, now go get ready", her mom kissed her forehead and took their dishes to the sink.

"Actually, I was thinking of _not_ driving in the car..." she looked cautiously from her mother to her father and back, anxiously awaiting the answer. Her mom and dad shared a look.

"Okay Talae, just, you know, be careful" her dad finally said, "We'll meet you there".

"Thanks dad" she kissed him on the cheek and went to go find some desent clothes. She decided on black, tight jeans, a white plain tank and a black zip-up hoodie with a Guns N' Roses print on the back. She stuffed it in a small duffel bag along with a pair of worn sneakers and meet her parents in the hallway.

"Alright, you got your keys?" she jingled the duffel bag, "right, see you in a bit". They both made their way to the car, locking the front door behind them. She let out a sigh and made her was to the back door. She took off her clothes and draped them over a nearby chair. It was rather dark outside now, so she didn't really have to worry about the neighbors seeing her running around stark naked in the snow.

She felt the snow melt around her toes as she stepped out onto the backporch, bag in hand. She jerked her head left and right and sprinted for the treeline, reaching it within a few seconds. She let out a breath and dropped the duffel bag to a dry spot near the bottom of an evergreen. She straightened her back and stretched her limbs. It had been a few days since last, with traveling and moving and all. She took a quick few breaths and closed her eyes for a second, before falling to all fours on the cold, hard forestfloor. She dug her front claws into the earth and wiggled them a little. She turned her head and swished her shaggy, voluminous tail back and forth. She yawned and stretched, letting out a shrill whine. She picked up her bag with her teeth, getting a good, comfortable hold on it, without wetting her clothes with her saliva, and started trotting west.

She sniffed the air and could quite clearly smell the smoke and burning wood of a fire about ten miles west. She could hear the wildlife chatter all around her, she only heard deer and a couple of birds chipper, it was winter after all, and damn close to human settlements. She held a steady, quickstepped trot, taking in her new surroundings as she went. She fit right into the snowy landscape, she was almost invisible with her ivory coat of fur. There wasn't a lot of wind, but she reveled in the cool, brisk night air, fully enjoying every minute of her time in the dark winterwonderland.

She stopped abruptly as a pungent scent flooded her nostrils. Suddenly a flurry of voices filled her head and she almost thought she was going mad.

_"Hey hey guys, aren't you coming with to the bonfire? My mom brought stuff for smores!_" an excited young voice yelled out.

_"Sure Seth, just gotta check up on the northside, be there in a few"_ a happy, deeper and sweet second voice responded, though it sounded farther away than the first.

_"Right, see you there Quil. Guys, come on guys! I know you're there!"_ the cheery one persisted.

_"Oh alright, I'll go if Jacob goes, whaddaya say man?_" a quiet, relaxed voice added.

_"Aw man, I had a movie and a bowl of chips all waiting for me at home and stuff. Fine, I'll meet you guys there. Where's Sam and his fellas?_" lean, masculine and soft was the voice of the fourth intruder and Talae felt a slight tug in her gut.

_"Rad dudes! They're here too. Seth out!_" she felt a swoop on her mind and then there was no sign of the young one, it was like he'd disconnected from her thoughts. What was going on?

_"I'm almost at you guys, wait for m- wait, you smell that?"_

_"What Quil, what now?"_

_"Shut up Embry. What do you mean Quil?"_

_"It like.. wolf, but.. different. Seriously, how do you guys not smell that? I'm going after it"_

_"Wait, I think I got it.. We'll met ya there Quil, Embry, come on"_

She felt the pressure of the voices get physically closer and she almost panicked. Her dad hadn't gotten a chance to speak with the Elders yet and she was not ready to reveal her secret to these pups just yet, nor did she want to fight them. She increased her pace till she almost hit top speed and went in a nice wide arch around their position, focusing on the scenery instead of thinking.

_"It's getting closer to the rez boys, lets get it!_" came the one known as Embry.

She got a few images from their minds, they were a good 30 seconds behind her. She pushed herself further, becoming nothing but a blur of white as her paws almost didn't touch the snow in her hasty escape. She knew she could outrun them, it was more her scent she was worried about.

She got closer to the town and sped through gardens and backyards, smelling her way to the fire. She heard a mingle of soft voices and laughter. She turned her head; good, she had a minute to spare. Quickly finding her way to the back of a shed in someones yard, she phased back and hurridly ripped her bag open and pulled on her clothes. She skipped towards the warmth of the flames as she slipped on her sneakers and tugged on her hoodie as she neared the campsite. She glanced back at the forest and their husky scent was getting closer.

She was finally at the campsite. It was full of people, all Quileute, native looking with their bronze skin and dark hair. She searched for her parents. Shit, they weren't there yet. Sniffing around she found another familiar scent and gladly headed in its direction. She mingled through the crowd, offering smiles and apologies when people bumped into her. She found Leah talking to a woman who looked remarkably like her. She sighed in relief and started for her.

Leah sensed her coming and turned around to face her as she came within proper speaking-range.

"Hey Talae, you made it!" she offered Talae a small handwave that eagerly got returned, "this is my mom, Sue" she gestured to the pretty lady next to her. She lifted her hand and Talae took and shook it firmly in greeting.

"Nice to meet you Mrs. Clearwater" she smiled at the older woman and she smiled back.

"Oh please call me Sue. So, you're Will Littlecreeks daughter huh?" she nodded, "where are your parents?"

"Oh they'll be here any minute now, ah there they are" she saw her parents enter the grounds and waved them over.

"Oh lords, is that you Sue?" her mother exclaimed, a hand over her mouth.

"Lily? Will? Oh my, it's been ages!" Sue grinned and gave them both hugs. Formalities aside, they started cathing up and talking about the old days as Leah poked her shoulder and jerked her head in the direction of the actual fire, indicating for Talae to follow her.

They sat on one of the logs that surrounded the bonfire, keeping a safe and comfortable distance to the licking flames.

"So, how are you liking Washington so far?" Leah, the icebreaker, asked and crossed her legs. Mimicking her movements Talae fidled with the rim of her hoodie.

"It's pretty nice so far, we've only been here since noon-ish. I love the nature, though its definently smaller than Anchorage", she snorted very unladylike, which caused Leah to snort to. They looked at eachother and burst out laughing.

"Smooth Talae. Very charming" she grinned, trying to stiffle her laughter.

"Hah, me in a nutshell. So, do you go to school around here?" her laughter calmed to a friendly smile.

"Nah, I have a part-time job down at the docks, helping out as security" she said, unzipping her sandy cardigan as the heat from the fire slightly got to her.

"Oh, cool", she didn't question why a slim girl like Leah would be working dock-security, she knew why, "wanna do that the rest of your life?" she smirked.

"Hah, no. I plan on going to college at the end of the summer actually, gotta do something useful with my life. What about you, school or work?"

"I'm continuing my senior year at Forks High on monday, I'm only 17 after all" she shrugged her shoulders, "and I don't know anyone".

"Aw. You know me" Leah grinned at her, poking her knee, "I think we'll get along just fine".

"Rad", Talae grinned back, double poking Leahs knee. She could smell the ones from the forest around the grounds, but decided to try and ignore them, hoping the smoke and the many people would help mask her scent.

She and Leah spent the next half hour getting to know eachother. Leah was surprisingly open about her life. They shared a broken heart, though Talae had gotten over it quite quicker than her new friend had. They somewhat shared taste in clothes, music and school favorite subjects. They shared alot more than that, but Talae wasn't letting her know just yet.

"Oh man, have I ever! It's like the greatest game in the 21st century", Talae flailed her arms for effect.

"Oh, please, they'll never make anything near as good as the original" she pointed out and Talae had to agree, "Okay okay, what about tattoos and piercings? Show me yours and I'll show ya mine" Leah winked and giggled.

"Hah, challenge accepted!" she flexed her arms, "you first".

"Well, you've probably already seen this one", she lightly touched her shoulder and Talae nodded. "I got this one for Christmas", Leah brought her black ballarina-slipper-wearing left foot up on the log and pulled up her jeans, revealing a small dreamcatcher on her ankle, no color, ornated with two feathers that reached the mid of her foot. She let Talae have a good look at it before she pulled her jeans back down and placed her foot on the ground. "The feathers are for my mom and brother". She pulled down at the neck of her t-shirt to reveal a tribal-styled soaring eagle on her collarbone, over her heart, "this one's for my father. He passed away last year..", she looked away sadly as she readjusted her collar.

Talae put a soft hand on her knee, "I'm sorry". Leah smiled at her and continued, "I have no piercings, well, except for my ears, but that's like mandatory" she shrugged and Talae gently retracted her hand, not wanting it to be awkward. "Your turn".

Talae brushed some of her hair behind her ears, "I've always liked piercings", she turned her head twice to Leah could see the whole rim of each of her ears covered in studs and colorful rings, "and I have a bananabell in my navel.

"As for tattoos , I got this one for my 16th birthday", she pulled down her own collar and a black and white tattoo of five feathers forming a star grazed her collarbone. She let Leah look at it before she refitted the collar, "then this at my 17th birthday just last wednesday", she pulled up the sleeve of her left arm so Leah could see the minimalistic bearpaw with red lining and shadow on her forearm.

"Nice, no scabs", Leah said with a knowing smirk and ran her fingers over it. Talae tried to ignore it and let down her sleeve when she was done.

"Yeah, I heal quick", she didn't meet Leahs stare, "this one was my first, I got it when I was 14. My dad did it himself, having learned the skills when he lived here in his youth" she lightly touched her right shoulder, though not making any move to uncover it.

Leah regarded her for a few seconds, not able to contain her curiousity anymore, "well, lets see it!"

A few more moments of silence, then Talae met her stare with a lopsided grin, "alright, just, don't freak".

Leah eyed her warrily with crossed arms and Talae slipped her right arm out of her hoodie. She lovingly circled the tattoo with her fingers before letting her hand fall away so Leah could see.

"That's..." Leah gasped, unconsciously touching her own shoulder. She reached a shaky hand to circle the tribal design, grazing the jaw of the hidden wolf. "It's white...". If she'd been light skinned, the tattoo would've been hard to see, but given her native origin and tanned skin it stood out quite nicely in the light of the fire.

Leah lifted her head and met Talaes honey-colored eyes, mouth hanging just slightly open. Talae smiled knowingly at her, and pulled her sleeve back up, "before you ask the obvious question, yes, I am what you think I am".

"But.. how?".

"Long story short, my father was born and raised here, full-blooded Quileute, and my mother full-blooded Inuit, coming from a small tribe up in northern Alaska. Their last shapeshifters stopped phasing a couple of generations ago, as their natural enemies were hunted to extinction and the rest stopped trying to invade their lands", she took a calming breath, "they wanted to help me when I first found out, but the Elders felt it would help me more to be among my own".

Leah blinked hard a couple of times, trying to register it all, "Wow... so, how come you phased? I mean, that would mean-"

"Yes. A group of three nomadic vampires had come to Anchorage, and they lurked around my neighbourhood and school, although I'm pretty sure it wasn't because of me. I got all the classic symptoms, high temperature, rage-fits and anger-outbursts, the shakes".

"But, you were only 14?"

"13 actually. I dunno why I phased so early, maybe because they were so close all the time. Anyway, one day I was walking home from school and it was dark already, ya know Alaska, and I started trembling as I walked past an alley. Then I heard a muffed scream coming from it, and my instincts just took over. I ran in and saw a crouched figure over one of my schoolmates. It hissed at me and I saw the blood dripping from its fangs. I growled back and pounched, only when I knocked it to the ground it was with a pair of huge ass paws. I ripped its head clean off, and then I... ran".

"Go Talae", Leah smiled at her, "what about the girl?"

"She died, luckily she just died, she didn't turn. However, I couldn't phase back for like, a week, so I hid in an old warehouse.. then when I finally did phase back, I was like, naked ya know... lets just say I did find my way home" she grimaced, thinking of the not so fond memory.

"Man... this is just so... wierd. But in a good way", Leah smirked, "so, how's it working with like, your hair and all" she gestured to the thick, voluminous ponytail that reached past Talaes shoulderblades.

She brushed a strand of coffee-brown hair behind her ear, "yeah, well, I tried having it short once, didn't suit me. I actually like the shaggy coat, and with my build it just fits me nicer".

"Oh, cool".

"What about you, you must be tired of hearing me endlessly ramble on, when did you first phase?"

"Around the time my dad died. My little brother phased too".

"How come? I mean, are there leeches around here?" Their voices had long since been vacated to whispers.

"Yeah, well, vegetarian ones... I'm sure your dad will tell you about it later" Leah shrugged her shoulders.

"Alright, I'll take ya word for it" Talae stood up and stretched, "Oh goodness, where is that ol' fart anyway...".

Leah stood with her and shook her legs, "Hey, wanna come meet the guys? I'm sure you'll fit right in".

"The guys? As in the _pack_?" she whispered the last words and Leah nodded smirking, "Oh, great, my first day and you're throwing me to the wolves". She told her about her "mental" encounter in the woods.

"Dude, you're serious fast if you outran Jake".

"Hah, thanks. Well, I'm pretty sure they're as confused as you were, and don't give me that look, I could see it in your eyes!" She laughed as Leah gave her incredulous stare.

"Come on you twit", the shorthaired Quileute hooked her arm through the Inuit's and almost dragged her over to a group of guys standing by a cooler, laughing and shoving eachother. Talae and Leah shared a look. _Tsk, boys._

They made their way into the little circle and the shyness creeped back into Talaes body, hunching her shoulders lightly.

"Hey guys, how's it hanging?" Leah started, not letting go of Talaes arm. She could practically feel the poor girl trembling.

A collective "Hi Leah" was heard.

"It's hangin' slightly to the left, actually" a smug looking guy added with a smirk. He had mischievous eyes and an impish look to him. He was build, like ripped. _They are all ripped_, Talae noticed and if it hadn't been for the low lighting, they would have all noticed the redness of her cheeks.

"Haha, you're _so_ funny Paul" Leah said sarcastically, cocked her hip and curled her lip in disgust.

"Hey sis, who's the new girl?"

"This is Talae guys, Talae say hello", she smirked.

Talae eyed her evilly and Leah snickered, "Hello", She offered a smile and a small wave. Another collective "Hi Talae" was heard.

"Talae this is Paul, Embry, Quil, Jared and Collin" indicating to each of them," and this is my lil bro' Seth" she drew her brother in and nookied him, which was quite a feat seeing his soaring height. He shoved her and tried to fix his hair.

"She just moved here from Anchorage" Leah beamed.

"Welcome then Talae" Embry was the first to step up and offer his hand. She took it gratefully and gave it a firm shake and flashed him a toothy smile. He stiffened a little when he saw her sharp canines and quickly threw Leah a glance before smiling back and letting go of her hand. Quil and Jared quickly stepped up too and shook her hand, as did Seth when he was satisfied with his hair.

"Thanks" she glanced around the circle, smiling.

"Nice to meet you" Paul stepped up last, casting her a lopsided grin and a raised eyebrow. She took his hand. He gripped it hard, almost hurting her, before she caught on and squeezed his hand a little harder. His lip twitched as he tried hard not to flinch. She smirked at him and he finally caved and let go.

"You too Paul", she said casually brushing a stray hair behind her ear. She looked at Leah who grinned at her, and the guys exchanged quiet looks.

"Aaaaaanyway, where's Jake and Sam?" Leah asked, looking around.

"Sam's over there with Emily and her fam. Jake's out doing some... errands..." Embry avoided her gaze and Leah nodded knowingly. Talae knew what they meant, it meant this Jake was out trying to track her. _Yeah, good luck with that._

"There you are honey!" her mom came up beside her, "Who are your new friends?". Talae presented them to her mom and a round of handshaking commenced.

"Hi boys. Sweetie, your dad and I are going home now, we just had a nice talk with the elders and the cheif. Do you wanna... _walk_ home?" Her mom said cautiously, trying to pick her words with care.

"Actually, I think I'll ride with you home. Bye guys, see you around". She turned to leave with her mom.

"Hey wait" She stopped and looked at Embry, as he continued, "we're, uhm, all hanging out at Emily's tomorrow, wanna join us?".

Leah nodded eagerly and dared her to say no.

"Alright, I'll come" she grinned and got the address and time from Embry, "Bye!" she waved as she followed her mom to the car.

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><p><strong>Reviews are highly appreciated!<strong>


	4. Chapter 3

**Enjoy! Thanks for the reviews, you guys are awesome!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 3<p>

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><p>Her dad explained to her on the way home how'd they'd met with the council elders and the leader of the wolf-packs, Sam Uley and Jacob Black about her situation. They'd had to "evaluate" her first, but if everything went well, they'd be glad to have her. He also explained the Quileutes deal with a vegetarian vampire family, the Cullens, the treaty and all details of it. He said Sam had invited her over to his fiancée's place tomorrow, to met the packs and get a chance to know the guys, and she told him about the wolves she'd already met and Embrys offer, then asked him the deal with two packs. Apparently, there were two alpha-males in the area, but unlike their fauna counter parts, they got along well, as the second one had sprung from the first. Then they told her to be good and come home at a resonable hour, monday was afterall a schoolnight, wolves or no, yada yada yada.<p>

When they got home she went straight to her room, yelling goodnight to her parents. She undressed to her undies and put on a loose tee, then went to brush her teeth. In her own bathroom. Oh yeah. She did a little wiggle-dance, this house was great. In Achorage they'd lived in an apartment to be closer to the hospital her parents worked at. Not a spacious apartment either. Two bedrooms, one bath. Not big. She felt happy in her new surroundings.

She'd have to get her own car though, she couldn't very well run to school everyday, that might become a bit suspicious. Ooh, or maybe a bike. She'd have to do some serious ass-kissing to get permission from her parents, though. Maybe she could play the "I'm practically indestructable"-card.

She crawled into her double bed, stretched and sighed with contentment, then drew the sheet over her legs, up to her hips. All the new aspects in her life drifted around in her head, like, bubbles. Slowly sleep claimed her, drifting off into a quiet, dreamless night.

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><p>She was up by ten am, she had to be at Sam and Emily's by noon. She took a quick shower and dressed herself in a pair of tight, dark jeans and a black tank-top with a delicious-looking cupcake on the front. She dried her hair and put it in a high ponytail, smudged on some black eyeliner and went to the kitchen. Her mom was up too, making a batch of tasty, sweey pancakes with canadian bacon and eggs. She set a plate out for Talae as she heard her take a seat the the island.<p>

"Morning sweety. That Leah called, she said she'll pick you up at 11:30", she said, flipping a pancake.

"'Kay, fanks mom", Talae said with a mouthful of pancakes.

"You pig" her mom smiled and poured her a glass of juice.

"Hey, you raised me", she retorted before downing half the glass.

She finished her food and did her mom a favor by washing her own plate. She kissed her on the cheek and thanked her for breakfast. The she went to find her go-out tote-bag and put her wallet, keys, waterbottle and phone in it. Leaving it at the frontdoor, ready to go, she threw herself onto the couch and turned on the tv. It was at least half an hour before Leah got there. She flipped through the channels till she hit a Family Guy episode and threw her feet up on the coffee-table.

Her dad came thundering down the stairs a little while after, ruffling her hair on his way to the kitchen. Family Guy ended and she went to go brush her teeth. Good first impression and all. She didn't pack or wear a shirt over her top, she thought about it, but since everyone would find out anyway why she was indifferent to the cold, what was the point.

She was suddenly hit by small waves of anxiety. Were they going to like her? What if she didn't fit in with their crowd? What if they were all jackasses and jerks? What if they really didn't want her at all?

She didn't have time to finish that freight-train of thoughts as a highpitched carhorn honked out front.

"Leah's here!" her dad shouted.

"Alright, I'll see you later!" she shouted back, pulling on her boots. She shouldered her bag and headed out the door.

"Hey Tay-tay!" Leah grinned out the window of her truck, playing some old Metallica on the car's stereo.

"Oh god, please don't call me that", she begged, crawling into the passengers seat.

"Aw, why not?"

"Because it's silly, and I'll start calling you Lay-lay if you do" she smirked as they drove down the road.

"Oh hell no! I'll just stick with Talae for now, thank you very much", Leah stuck her tongue out at her before they shared a laugh.

Making friends here wasn't as hard as it seemed. Leah was real nice and they had alot in common, so they just got along very well. She smiled at the thought as they pulled up to a cosy-looking, old, wooden house. A woman with long black hair waited on the porch along with a tall, buff, intimidating fella... with no shirt on... in shorts. She gulped and stepped out of the truck, walking towards them with Leah by her side.

"Hey girl", the woman came down the steps and gave Leah a one-armed hug.

"Hey Em", she one-arm-hugged her back, "this is Talae. Talae this is my cousin Emily".

"Hi, nice to meet you" she stuck out her hand and Emily clasped it with both her hands, smiling at her. Talae noticed the huge scar that took up half her face, but she was a beautiful woman nonetheless. She couldn't help but wonder where she had gotten it, but ignored that question for the sake of politeness.

"Nice to meet you too".

The big guy stepped down behind Emily and lifted his big lion's paw of a hand, "Hi Talae, I'm Sam".

She shook his hand firmly, not giving in when he squeezed it a little harder, testing her. She threw him a cautious smile, "Hi Sam".

"So, your dad told us about your whole ordeal. Tough story. You up for joining the pack?". Wow, this guy was blunt. Nice.

"Yeah, I believe I am" she answered with as much conviction as she could muster and squared her shoulders, "It was what I was born to do, sir", she finished of her sentence with a salute.

Sam smirked, "At ease soldier. Alright, lets meet the guys then".

He yelled with a booming voice for the boys to come out and she felt a tug in her body, wanting to follow his words. She fought against it, mainly because she already was outside, secondly because she was not used to following orders.

A loud commotion was heard from inside the house and a bunch of guys scrambled out the door. She couldn't help but laugh at them and Leah and Emily quickly joined in as the guys lined up in a half circle, like the good little soldiers they were. _Ooooh boy..._ They were all wearing cut-off old shorts and no shirts, flashing their extremely toned, ripped bodies. _Oh lord, why me?_

She recognized Embry, Quil, Collin, Seth and Paul and Jared, giving them a small wave. They gave her a wierd look back, trying to figure out why this was more like a pack-meeting than friends hanging out. She guessed Sam or Jacob hadn't told them anything yet. There were a couple of unfamiliar faces too.

"Guys, this is Talae. I know some of you met her yesterday", he folded his arms over his chest, an aura of authority enveloped him, "but this isn't a friendly BBQ, this is concerning the packs". Now they were all looking at each other wierd. She offered them a sheepish smile, letting Sam do the talking.

"Talae is going to be running with us from now on. She's one of us".

"Great, another chick trying to run with the wolves" she heard Paul mutter and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Oh shut up Paul" Leah snapped before she could and draped her arm over Talaes shoulder, "this girl's the shit, so back off". He growled at her and she gladly returned the gesture.

"Quit it. Talae, your father tells me you first phased when you were 13, is that true?".

She nodded, "Yes sir".

"How has your progress been, with learning to control it?".

"Good, that I can tell. I don't phase when I get mad anymore, I got past that the first year. I can control everything about it fairly good, although I've never had anyone to compare too..." she said truthfully. "And I was a bit overwhelmed with the telepathy".

"Would you mind "test"-patroling with us later?"

"No, sir. I'd love it. I got a little run in myself yesterday, you guys _almost_ caught me" she winked at Quil and Embry, whose faces lit up with realisation.

"That was you? Oh man, you're fast" Embry smiled.

"Come on guys, food's getting cold. Where's Jacob?" Emily budded in, thankfully.

"I'm right here Em", a deep voice came from the door way and Talaes ear twitched in delight.

A tall, _gorgeous_ guy made his way down the porchsteps. Of course he was wearing no shirt at all and Talae had a hard time looking away from his washboard abs and well-defined pecks. His deep tanned skin was smooth and his raven hair fell to his ears, shaggy and shiny. Before she caught his eyes she looked away, blushing, kicking herself for being to obvious.

"Talae, this is the second packs alpha, Jacob Black. In time you'll have to chose who you'll want to run with, but for now, seeing as you're the newbie, you'll be under both our wings" Sam said, looking at her. She nodded.

"She looks scrawny Sam, you sure she'll be able to keep up?" Jacob said and she didn't have to look to know a smirk firmly planted it self on his face. She straightened her back, raising her head to met his stare. But she chickened out and decided to focus on his mouth instead. His full, plumb, juicy mouth... _Snap out of it!_

"So you're the one that outran us yesterday", he was standing infront of her now, "you must be as fast as Leah. She's our fastest wolf". Leah beamed beside her, very proud to be acknowledged. "Jacob".

She saw a big hand comming forward and she shook it. _Mmh, soft..._

"Hi, I'm... Talae..." she said shakily, finally looking him in the eye. For a split second her whole universe shifted as she gazed into his dark eyes. A maelstrom of emotion whirled around in her whole being, aching, hurting, longing. She though she was going to collapse before the whole thing imploded like a supernova, leaving behind a dull ache, like she'd just run an emotional marathon. She suddenly felt very connected to this man, whom she'd never seen in her life. Her body longed to hold him, touch him, be with him... She shook her head, trying to rid off the feeling, not feeling entirely safe with herself. Where did all that come from?

Leah looked between them with a wierd look, seeing Jacob as frozen in place as Talae as he stared at her.

"Alright, come on guys, food's getting cold!" Emily yelled, snapping Jacob out of his daze. He coughed and threw Talae another deep look before he followed the guys inside, engaging Sam in conversation on the way.

"What was that?" Leah asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't know..." she whispered back.

Leah stared at her for another second before dragging her inside, "come on".

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><p>If she ever thought <em>she<em> ate alot, well, _fuck_. These guys were gaping, bottomless pits, no, _chasms_ in the oceanfloor.

"You made all this?" she asked Emily, not believing anything less than a fully equipped catering staff could make a feast like the one the guys were scarfing down.

Emily chuckled as she sat down a basket of muffins, which almost immediatly, miraculously half emptied, "Yeah, sure. I'm use to making food for 20 people by now. So it's not gonna be a big deal to feed another mouth", she gave Talae a friendly pat on the shoulder before she got going on some grilled cheese sandwiches.

"Come on Talae, let's eat" Leah took a seat at the table, pulling the shy girl down beside her.

She was about to say that she'd just eaten a largish breakfast an hour ago, but it seemed pointless. She could eat anyway. She grabbed a muffin and started gnawing on it.

Jacob and Sam vacated the kitchen, and even though her hearing was surpreme, she had trouble hearing their conversation. She had a funny feeling it was about her... or maybe she just wanted to oogle at Jacob some more...

There was a lot of banter at the table, the guys were a tight-knitted family, she could see that. Sure, there were individual friendships and childish fueds, but overall everybody got along. She could certainly learn to love these guys.

They spent their meal getting to know eachother, and she found herself more and more at peace. She'd found a place she didn't have to keep secrets, or contain her personality. She could just be her, and they actually liked her. They laughed together, she could share more serious issues with them without being ridiculed, she just felt at _home_. Though she didn't share her inner most secrets and dark parts of her life just yet, she certainly felt a bond with them. They were going to be her brother and sisters, and she felt a kin to them.

After everybody had their fill, and then some, everyone pilled out onto the porch.

Leah hadn't left her side and for that she'd be forever grateful. It was nice to have a crutch. Talae was more than surprised that it had taken so little time to fit in, make a friend, be introduced into a family. It was nice. Beyond nice. It was fan-fucking-tastic.

Sam and Jacob joined them on the porch. Sam wrapped his arms around Emily, who'd been smart enough to put on a winterjacket, and kissed her cheek.

"So Talae, you ready for a run?" Jacob asked, sitting down beside her on the porchsteps. She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded.

"Alright, you can phase with Leah if you're feeling a little... self-conscious" he flashed her a wolfish grin and she blushed. _Stupid nakedness._

"Aw man, why you gotta spoil our fun Jake?" Paul budded in, laughing along with the others.

"Come on girl, lets go" Leah rolled her eyes and snaked her arm through hers. Talae manages to give Paul a smack on the head as she went by him.

"Hey!", she stuck her tongue out as the guys laughed at him.

They went a little beyond the treeline before shimmying out of their clothes. She did feel a little uncomfortable. She knew Leah saw the scars on her stomach and sides, and she was grateful that she didn't say anything about. That was not a story she was comfortable talking about yet.

"Alright, lets do this!" Leah fisted her hands and looked very determined. Talae laughed at her, as she looked very silly standing there naked and macho.

She phased first, a smooth process taking a few seconds as her body morphed into a completely different being. Soon a light grey, huge wolf stood infront of her, and though it was immensly bigger than a normal wolf, they could stand shoulder to shoulder. Smiling, Talae reached up and scratched it behind the ear, earning a content whine.

"You're very pretty Leah", she said. Leah licked her face and nudged her shoulder.

"Alright alright, I'm doin' it". She closed her eyes and let out a breath. When she opened them again she was almost eye to eye with Leah's ashen form.

_"Wow, I've never seen such a coat before, its white and... beautiful. And I can totally see what you mean with the long hair_" Leah voice sounded in her head.

_"Thanks. I blame it on my mothers side of the family_" she said shyly.

_"Alright, lets go show you off",_ Leah snickered.

They trotted out of the forest and up to the guys. They stared wide-eyed at her, like reality just sunk in.

"Duuuuuude... Nice fur!" Seth grinned and ran up to her. He glanced at her for permission. She nodded and he ran his hand down the side of her, "You're so soft!". She chuckled at him; he was such a carefree, happy kid.

"She's beautiful" she heard Jacob mutter, earning him a few odd glances from Sam and Emily, who were standing beside him. If she wasn't in wolf-form , she would have blushed, badly.

_"Sounds like Jake's takin' a shine to you_" Leah "whispered" to her.

_"Oh shush"_.

"Alright, lets go boys, let's put this chick to the test" Sam said jokingly and they all headed for the tree line.

Jacob gazed at her as he passed her, and sofly ran his fingers through her fur, much like Seth had. But this felt different, loving, gentle... longing. She shuddered and threw his disappearing form a soft look. What was he doing to her?

_"Dude, please keep these things to yourself_" Leah gagged.

_"Wait, you saw that? Okay, this telepathy thing is going to get on my nerves, I'll tell ya now_" Talae grimaced. This was definitely doing to be a problem.

"_Tell me something I don't know"_.

"I think he likes you" Emilys voice brought her back to reality. She stood in front of her and reached up to scratch her under her fluffy jaw.

_"Oh, thats nice"_, her leg almost wiggled.

"You really are a sight", Emily smiled and stroked Talaes snowy white fur, gaining a big wet lick on the cheek, "Aw, ew, thanks a lot" she chuckled.

They heard a bunch of whines and grunts as a group of horse sized wolves came out from under the treeline. There were two, the black and the russet colored one, that were at least a foot larger than the rest. She guessed them to be Sam and Jacob. She cleared her head of worded thoughts and focused on feelings and images instead. There was no way she would let these guys into the deepest parts of her mind, yet.

She noticed they all had different colored furs, but that she could recognize them by their eyes. She also noticed how she was the smallest in the bunch. _Aw, great._

_"Hahaha, you're even tinier than Leah!_" Seth jumped around her like a happy puppy. She snapped after his tail, just missing it by an inch.

_"Alright, enough of this foolishness_" Sams booming voice came and Seth whimpered and stepped back.

_"Right, so how do we do this?_" she asked cautiously, shuffling her front paws into the snow.

_"Well, you seem to have the telepathy down, even more controlled than most of the guys in this pack. I know you outran the fellas last night, so lets see you keep up and how you fit into the pack. For now, just follow my orders_" Sam started. When he finished his sentence a low growl erupted from the russet wolf, Jacob. Talae "raised" her eyebrow at him, as did the others. He looked astounded himself, as if he didn't mean to do that.

_"Right,_ our_ orders... come on_", Sam glanced at him then set of towards the north.

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><p>They partrolled through the whole northern half of Washington, well, the forest parts. Sam and Jacob was yelling orders left and right, and they all worked as one unit, one machine, everyone doing their part. She had to slow down and restrain herself a few times for them to catch up. It was pretty clear that she was one of the faster ones. She'd been told Leah held the speed-record, so Sam made sure to put her through her paces. She outran them all, including Leah, she was nothing but a white lightning when she hit top-speed. She didn't like taking that away from her wolven friend, but she seemed to be fine with it.<p>

There weren't any threats in the area, so on the way back they filled her in on the Cullen family and asked her about her experience fighting "bloodsuckers". She told them about her first encounter, and the dusin she had killed over the years. As she was the only shapeshifter in Anchorage she hadn't taken it upon herself to be its sole protecter, just trying to get by instead, dealing with her own life and issues, instead of hunting down trouble. But, she'd had enough mind to kill every vampire she'd come across, well, most of it was self-defense, as the ones she'd met weren't real talkers.

She felt very much alive running with the packs, it was exhilarating to say the least. A great sense of belonging settled over her like a comforting blanket. This was what she was made for. This was where she belonged.

_"Aw, we love you too Tay-tay_" Leah cooed, nudging her shoulder.

Talae let out a playful growl and snapped her jaws at Leahs hind-legs, making the grey wolf jump awkwardly to the side to avoid her pointy teeth.

_"Oh, cat fight!_" Embry cheered, barking. She growled at him and started chasing him around, trying to bite his tail as he laughed in her head.

As they got closer to Emily's they split up boys and girls. She and Leah phased back in a blink, quickly putting on their clothes. She sighed, relieved to be free of the shared minds thing - for now.

"I'm going to hafta find some better apparel for this shit", she muttered, earning her a laugh from Leah as she struggled with the speed-dressing in skinny jeans.

"Yeah, you're gonna wanna do that, jeans and boots are hard to pull off and on, on the run".

They left the forest just in time to see the guys piling inside the house. Jacob stood on the porch, arms crossed and a serious look on his face.

Leah saw it and immediately excused herself, "I'll, ah, meet ya inside". She gave Talae an apologetic look before running inside the house. _Great, now you leave me._

Sighing she stepped onto the deck and made a pass at the door, knowing she wouldn't make it.

"Talae".

She turned to face him, having a little more confidence than before, "yes Jacob?". But as soon she looked him in the eye the ache that pulled at her insides both intensified and dulled at the same time, almost making her dizzy.

The serious look on his face softened as he stared into her eyes, "Look, I've been talking to Sam. I know he said you'd be able to choose who to run with of the packs, but... we've kinda agreed that you'll be running with me... I mean, my pack". He sighed and put his hand over his eyes in frustration.

"Okay" She said, folding her hands behind her back. Sure she wasn't keen on decisions being made for her, but she saw the big picture here.

"Okay?" He raised an eyebrow at her, "are you sure?"

"Yes", she smiled, "I mean, it's only logical, what with your pack being low on numbers compared to Sam's anyway".

He looked at her in disbelief before he manages to gather his senses, "Okay then, right. Good". He smiled gently at her and it made her heart flutter.

"Good," she repeated.

"Okay. Uhm, let's go inside then, Em's probably gotten dinner ready by now" he said softly. She rummaged through her bag for her phone, found it and looked at the display. 18:34. She could stay a bit longer. Emily's cooking was fabulous.

He held the door open for her.

"Why thank you sir," she grinned and he smirked back, taking a small bow.

"You're welcome, my lady".

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><p><strong>Review please, even if its just a simple, "I like it"! Spank you!<strong>


	5. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the delay, I have work ya know! Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 4<p>

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><p>"Oh god, I'll never eat again" she burped loudly and stroked her stomach.<p>

"Alright, way to be one of the guys Tee" Embry high-fived her and grinned.

"Oh, _that's_ my new nickname huh?" she eyed Leah, "it's still better than _Tay-Tay"_.

"Aw come on!" Leah rolled her eyes and punched her shoulder.

Her pocket vibrated; it was a text from her mom.

**_Coming home soon? School night!_**

She texted her back saying she'd be on her way in 'five.

"Alright, time for me to go guys, anyone who wants to give me a ride?" she downed the last of a can of coke.

Leah opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything Jacob spoke up, "I'll take you".

She smirked at him then went to kiss all the guys on their cheeks, "Alright, I'll see you guys later". She hugged Leah, promising she'd call so they could hang out soon. Jacob pulled a t-shirt over his head as she grabbed her bag, waving goodbye. They stepped out into the brisk night-air. She closed her eyes took a good deep breath, smelling every little scent in range. When she opened her eyes she found Jacob staring at her with a soft expression.

"What?" she tugged a piece of hair behind her ear.

He smiled, "Nothing". He walked to his VW. She glared at his back, but gave up and skipped to the car and got into the front seat. She pulled out her iPod.

"Do you mind?" she asked, lifting up the apparatus.

"Uhm, no sure, but how'd-" he cut himself of as she pulled out a cable for connecting stereo and mp3-player, "Ah".

She chuckled as she plugged it into the car stereo, "any preferences?" she asked flipping through the music.

"Nah, just put on whatever you like" he said.

"You're gonna regret that" she laughed as "_BYOB_" by System of a Down started blaring through the small car. Jacob cringed at first and she snickered at him as she bounched her head back and forth. She turned down the volume so they could talk as he reved the engine and drove away from the house.

"You're taste in music is... intriguing" he said, starting to rock his own head a bit.

"And by intriguing you mean...?"she asked smirking.

"... Different", he glanced at her, "but I like it".

She grinned and leaned back in her seat. Something inside her enjoyed being this close to him, just being in his presence soothed her inner animal. She sneaked a peak at him now and then. God, was he handsome.

"So, school tomorrow huh?" he asked, a little nervousness creeping into his voice.

"Uh, yeah! Last semester even", she nodded excessively. _Awkward._

"Sweet. So, uhm, if you have nothing better to do, you could stop by the garage after?" he kept his eyes on the road, "you know, hang with the guys?"

"Garage?"

"Uh, yeah. I fix... cars and stuff", he let out a nervous laugh, "I restored this baby myself". He patted the dashboard.

"Really? Wow, nice" a thought crossed her mind, "Hey, if I buy an old bike could you fix it up for me?". She hadn't even asked her parents about the transportation situation yet. _Smart move Talae_.

"You want to ride a bike? I knew I liked you for a reason" he smirked, then realized what he said, "uh, right. Uhm, sure, I'd love to help out". He bit his lip and tried to focus on the road in front of them.

She blushed, "thanks Jacob... oh, and uh, yeah I'd like to hang with you guys... tomorrow...". She giggled when she saw him chewing his lip to pieces, he didn't look like the kind of guy who got nervous over a girl. He smiled at her and the tension eased up.

"Great. If you want, I can pick you up after school?".

"Yeah, okay, cool", they pulled up to her house, "thanks for the ride Jacob".

"Hey no problem".

She got out of the car and walked to his window as he rolled it down, "I'll see you tomorrow then".

He gave her a lop-sided smile that just melted her heart, and she decided to take the chance. She leaned in swiftly and pressed a soft, long kiss to his cheek, "See ya later". She sauntered down the gravel path and up the porchsteps, trying hard not to look back. She threw a glance over her shoulder as she unlocked the front door and saw him staring into space with a smile on his lips and his hand lightly touched his cheek. She giggled as the shut the door behind her and discarded her shoes.

"Mom! Dad! I'm hoooooome!" she yelled as she threw her stuff down.

"Hi sweety! There's leftovers in the fridge!" she heard her mother yell back from the livingroom.

"Thanks, but I just ate" she said as she walked in, dropping herself down on the couch besides her moms outstretched form with her head in her husband's lap.

"So, how'd it go?" her mother enquired, nudging Talaes thigh with her foot.

She told them about the whole afternoon, leaving out the part about her perplexed feelings about Jacob of course. They could see the glimmer of joy in her eyes as she spoke; she was happy. Will glances at his wife and caught her eye, silently agreeing that they did the right thing coming here.

"And I'm going to hang with them tomorrow again, Jacob's picking me up from school, by the way if-I-buy-an-old-bike-and-Jacob-fixes-it-up-can-I-keep-it please please please?" she breathed, hoping that they'd just nod and say "yes dear", instead of asking her to repeat herself. She cringed as her father gave her a calculating look.

"No", her mother said plainly.

"Yes", her father said almost immediatly after her mother, earning a very disapproving look.

"What? William you can't be serious! It's dangerous, and she doesn't know anything about it, and and..." she rambled on before he put a pillow over her face to silence her.

When she calmed down he removed the pillow and continued, "Seriously Lily. If she got shot in the head, she'd probably roll over and say _"Please sir, may I have some more?_". He highfived his daughter, "You really think she's going to get hurt with a bike?".

Her mom gave him a long, hard look, twitching her one eye like a maniac. Finally she sighed, giving up, "fine".

"YES! Oh thank you thank you thank you!" Talae sprang up and hugged them both, then did a little happy dance.

"But you're paying with your own money! Now, get away from the TV, _Bones_ is on", her dad waved her away. She kissed his and her mothers cheek, said goodnight, before she danced to her room, twirling and humming all the way.

She put a Papa Roach CD on her stereo, rocking around the room as she got everything ready for school in the morning. She liked being prepared, having everything ready should anything go wrong, like if her alarm didn't go off or the house burned down...

She packed her messenger bag full of writing and drawing utensils, 3 notebooks and a sketchbook. She'd get her books tomorrow and fill her locker up with them. Then she stuffed a small pocket on the bag full with lunch-money, gum and keys.

Various articles of clothing flew to the floor as she went through her dresser and closet, trying to pick out an outfit that would say "Hey, I'm cool, but not _too_ cool" and would express her personality. Oh, and made her look good, of course.

Frustrated, she just gave up and did the old close-your-eyes-and-pick-something-rutine. Her first choice was immediatly discarded. Shorts and spagetti-tops just wasn't January in Forks-clothes. She had a bit more luck on the second try, picking up a pair of loose fitting jeans that hung low on her hips and a tight longsleeve shirt with horizontal black and green stripes. She matched it with a pyramid-studded belt and lime-green socks.

Satisfied she laid the outfit over the back of her desk-chair and put her bag on the seat. She undressed and pulled the same tee on she'd slept in last night. Turning down the volume on the stereo, she crawled into bed, just letting the CD run its course.

She drew up the sheets, enjoying the soft coolness on her bare legs, and put her arms behind her head. Things were just moving so fast now. Everything had slowed down over the last 4 years, with all that had went on. They said time moves faster when you're having fun. It was only logical it would apply the other way around too, that if you were just having a drag, time would slow down. One of the many ways the universe loved torturing you. But then, she got here, and everything changes with the speed of light. It was exhausting, but never before had she felt so alive. She felt that things might finally look up now. Maybe she could finally start to live a normal, the term normal being used _very_ loosely, life, with friends, family, brothers and sisters, and maybe one day, love.

Love. The word brought feelings with it, the ache that was still present in her body hitched, and the image of a certain person filled the dark space behind her eyelids. Jacob Black. How did he manage such an impact on her, just thinking his name brought a sickening smile to her lips. She bit her lip as the mental picture zoomed out and she saw him standing there in his cut offs and bare torso. God, what was he doing to her? Was it some kind of ancient tribal magic? A curse? What ever it was, this bond was frustrating the hell out of her. Her whole diaphragm twisted thinking of him. For fucks sake, she'd known him for a day!

She tossed and turned furiously a dusin times before her mind finally gave up its hold on the physical world and let her drift on to sleep.

* * *

><p>Her dreams were haunted by evasive wolves and shadows and stomach aches, but when she awoke the next morning to the annoying, continuing <em>beep-beep<em> of her alarm clock, she felt quite rested. She stretched, feeling her joints crack before she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She laid still for a couple of minutes, willing her body to move while she fought going back to sleep. She heard movement upstairs and finally swung her legs over the side of the bed. If she wanted a ride to school she'd have to be ready when her parents were. Tugging on her tee she chewed on her tongue a few time, but gave up trying to rid her mouth of the foul taste that was mandatory as soon as you woke up, and went to brush her teeth, and tongue, instead. She finished her business in the bathroom, put on some deodorant and went back into her room. As she finished putting on her shirt she heard her mom yell something in the lines of "breakfast is ready" from down the hall. She secured her belt around her hips and put her cell in her pocket before picking up her bag and going after the smell of food.

"Hey munchkin" her dad greeted as she entered the kitchen and sat down beside him by the island. He was reading the paper with a cup of black coffee. Her mom put a plate of toast and eggs in front of her, greeting her good morning. She poured herself a glass of milk and started chewing on a piece of buttered toast.

"If you're serious about the bike thing, maybe we should go looking for a cheap one in Port Angeles one of these days?" her father said sipping his coffee.

"Sure, if you're not busy at the hospital? Otherwise I could just take Jacob, he'd be the one to fix it anyway" she answered as she finished her toast, going for the eggs.

"Oh hoh! So you'd rather go with some kid than your old man?" he poked her ribs and she jerked away from him, sticking her tongue out.

"He's not a kid, he's my Alpha" she said with some kind of pride, puffing her chest out and pouting her lips in a "fierce" look, "besides, what do you know about MC's?".

"Oh, I had a Harley when I met you mom", he said, grabbing his wife around her waist as she walked by, "I was a real badass back then".

"You were a real jackass, you mean" Lily said with a smirk as he glared at her, "let the girl have some fun".

"Fine", Will sighed and sipped his coffee, "are you ready to go?".

She chomped down the last of her breakfast and nodded after she downed her milk, "Mhm".

"Good, lets get going then".

She reached the car first as she was all ready to go, her dad took the driver's seat as her mom locked up the house. She pulled on her headphones and let the music wake her up properly. The ride didn't take anymore than ten minutes, she was early. She'd have plenty of time to pick up books and get a feel on where everything was.

"Bye sweety, see you tonight!" her dad yelled out the window as her mother waved.

"Have a good day honey!" her mother shouted before her father rolled the window back up and drow of.

She turned around and looked at the gloomy building that was Forks High. Clutching her messenger bag she started walking into the building. Everything was quiet, almost no one was around yet. She saw a couple of teacher-looking personas pass her as she walked to the secretary's office, maybe a student or two. She gently pushed the door open and stepped inside the small office, pulling down her heaphones. She looked around for a minute before she was interrupted by a commanding female voice.

"Can I help you dear?".

She looked over a counter full of paper and saw a grey haired, short woman amidst the organised chaos.

"Uhm, yes, I-uh just transfered from Alaska?" she stuttered, not completely prepared for the small womans appearence.

"Ah, you're-" she shuffled some papers around, "-ah yes, Talae Littlecreek then?".

"Yes, thats me..." she adjusted the shoulder strap.

"Here, you'll have to go to the book depot to get your books -here's the note-, this is your class schedule and a map. We can't have you get lost on your first day", she said as she handed Talae a few papers, "Oh, and here's your student ID".

She looked at the picture and cringed. Oh well, it could have been worse. "Thank you Mrs...-"she looked at the small namesign on the counter, "Mrs Cope". She smiled at the old lady before she turned around and walked out the office.

As the office door closed behind her with a _click_ she pulled out her phone to look at the time. She still had half an hour before first bell so she looked at the map she was given and quickly located the book depot. She put her headphones back on and started down the hallway.

She got her books and managed to put them in her locker with ten minutes to spare. She looked over her class schedule and went to find her first class; english with Mr. Mason. Her stride there was leisurely as she took in her surroundings, willing her mind to memorize it all so she could ditch the stupid map sooner. More student filled the hallways now and the noice increased very noticeably. She found the classroom with ease. Trying to figure out where to sit was the next mission. There was a couple of seats empty, plus a few tables completely deserted. There were chairs available next to a jock-looking guy and a cheerleader at her right, and a nerdy boy and a spacy girl on her left. Her first instinct was to go to the tables all the way in the back and sit alone like she'd used to. But she reminded herself that this was a new life, a fresh start, and damn it all if she was going to fall into her old ways. She took a deep breath and took the seat next to the spacer, who was entirely too preoccupied looking out the window to notice Talae sitting down next to her.

A couple of heads in the classroom turned as she sat in the plastically uncomfortable chair, and a few lingered when she'd settle down. She was new afterall, new things have to be examined. She tried to ignore it, refusing to look anybody in the eye, just trying to focus on getting ready for class. Disturbed's "Voices" was playing rather loudly in her ears and as she pulled the headphones off her head, seriously doubting sitting with them on in class would make her popular with the teacher, the girl next to her finally gave a few life signs. As Talae turned off the music, the girl sighed and turned her head back to the front. She had a stoned smile and heavy eyelids as she rested her chin in her hand. Talae raised an eyebrow at her as she wrapped up the wires, so they'd fit neatly into their compartment in her bag. _This girl is spaaaaaaced._..

The girl lazily let her head fall to the side and looked at her new table-buddy. She looked Talae right in the eye and said with a giddy, sluggish voice, "Don't you just love sunshine? It's so... bright... and beamy". It was a rare sight in Forks, but yes, the sun was out that day.

_Is she high?_ was all that ran through Talaes mind as her eyebrow remained raised at the perculiar girl, who seemed to be flying as high as a kite.

Her eyes rolled upwards for a moment as she sighed. Then she turned her gaze at Talae again.

"You're new right?", she was still smiling that goofy smile, like she had no care in the world.

"Yeah..." she hesitated for a second, then slowly stuck out her hand for the girl to shake, "I'm Talae".

Her smile widened and she took the extended hand and shook it twice, then held it for a good, uncomfortably long time. Talae wondered briefly if she'd spaced out again, but she regained focus and let go off her hand, "Hi Talae, I'm Sunday, but you can call me Sunny" she said, as a-matter-of-fact-ly, "wow, you're hot".

Talae couldn't help but smile at her, knowing she meant her body temperature. She wished she could've had the same outlook on life that this girl apparently had.

"Sunny, and you like sunshine..." Talae mused as a small smile grazed her face. Sunday had long, golden curls cascading down her back. She had a cute button nose and petite, rosy lips. Even thought her eyeslids seemed to be constantly half closed, her shiny, deep blue eyes shone through easily. Her body was thinnish and she had sun-kissed skin. She had on a long soft brown skirt that reached her ankles and a black hoodie with a front pocket. And flipflops. In january. With snow.

And she smelled of honey... And beer... Maybe she was drunk, not high.

"Why do you smell like beer?" Talae blurted out, without thinking, but managing to keep on the down low, avoiding weird stares and whispers.

Sunday chuckled, "It's my homemade hair remedy, you like it? It's got beer, and honey, and jojoba oil and aloe and stuff". She flipped her hair and a whiff of mostly honey and beer hit her senses again. It was kind of nice, honey with the beer. The alcohol wasn't overpowering with the sweet smell accompanying it.

"It's nice", she admitted, twirling her own dark hair around her finger. She had a few split-ends and the tips were dry-ish, but she liked her hair. Sundays, however, looked like a cover from Vogue.

"You could try it, if you want to get rid of those dry tips", she said smiling, looking slightly more awake.

"Maybe. Thank you" Talae smiled back, then settled down as the teacher walked in.

"Good morning class" he said setting his things down.

"Good morning Mr. Mason", was murmured throughout the room.

"So, I see we have a new student today. Ms. Littlecreek?" he stated, looking up from a piece of paper, that no doubt just informed him of her arrival.

She sighed and raised her hand, "Here sir".

He looked her over, "Well, stand up and introduce yourself".

Oh, he was going to be one of those, huh? Great.

She reluctantly stood. "Hi, I'm Talae" she said with a small wave. She earned a few stares, a few smiles and a whole lot of indifferent glances.

"It says here you came from up in Anchorage, that right?".

"Yessir, correct-o. Though I come in peace", she said with a small smile and did the "Live long and prosper"-greeting. She heard a few amused snorts and a giggle from Sunday.

"Uhuh", he looked at her skeptically, "you may sit down".

She sat down quickly, Sunday nudged her side, "I think he likes you". She giggled and Talae looked at her as if she'd grown a second head.

"What?" was the only thing she could think of.

Sunday giggled again, "Relax, I'm pulling ya leg".

Class went by as fast as classes normally go by. Boring and way too long. But Sunday provided excellent comedy relief and Talae wished she could have her by her side all day. She was nice, she didn't seem to have one mean bone in her body. Okay, she was a bit on the hippie side, but she was really sweet and funny. And smelled of beer.

The bell rang, not too soon, and people trudged out the room. She got outside the door and stepped over to lean against the wall so she could access her path to her next class.

"What classes do you have?". Sunday leaned against the wall next to her.

"Uhm, I have art next", she said looking at her schedule.

"Cool, me too! With Mrs. Lewis right?" Sunday took the schedule out of her hands and studied it briefly, "Oh my god, we have like, four classes together! Awesome!". She gave her a sideways hug before taking her hand and dragging her towards the next period's classroom.

Talae smiled. At least she wasn't going to be lonely half the day. They also had AP Biology together and managed to make lab-partners.

They sat together at lunch, with a couple of Sunday's other friends, two guys and two girls, Caleb, Jack, Candy and Jennifer. Caleb had short, black hair that clashed with his pale complexion, but he was a cute boy nonetheless. Jack was almost the complete opposite, with tanned skin and dirty blonde hair, very surfer. Candy lived true to her name, platinum blonde, straight hair with a streak of pink and hiding behind a pair of candycane-colored glasses hid a pair of bright hazel eyes. Jennifer was of asian descent with black, long hair and dark eyes and smooth skin, sporting a casual school-uniform outfit. They were nice, upbeat and weird like Sunday and she found herself liking their company. She stuck like glue to Sunny though, and Sunny didn't seem to mind, she seemed rather happy about it. It was like the connection she had with Leah, that sisterly vibe. She felt wanted and cared for in Sundays presence. It was out of the ordinary and... nice.

In 6th period's P.E. she excelled in track, which was really not surprising, and the coach urged her to try out for the track team. She really wanted to be on the football team though, but since they didn't have a girls team and even though making the guys team wouldn't be hard with her assets, she tossed that idea, thinking it was better not to get involved in any physical sports. She might break a few bones. On the other team that is. She also kindly declined the track team, thinking it was better to have more free time for patrols.

Patrols.

Pack.

_Jacob._

She smiled unconsciounsly as she tapped her pencil, not listening to her 7th period's psychology teacher anymore. The ache that settled itself in her body that day she met him had not subsided, and it fluttered delighted at the thought of him. She was confused beyond explanation at her sudden borderline obsession about her Alpha.

"Talae, you coming? Hello?" Sundays voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Huh?".

"The bell just rang, we're off! How did you not hear that?".

"Oh. Yeah, I'm coming". She gathered her stuff and walked side by side with Sunday to the parking lot.

"So, I was thinking maybe we could hang out some time this week and get started on that psych poster?" Sunday asked, flipping a stray piece of hair.

"Yeah, sure, here's my cell number, just text me with a time and we'll do it" she smiled, taking Sundays hand and scribbling her number on the backside.

She smiled, "Cool".

A whiff of testosteron and forest with a hint of something indescribable drifted past her nose and she turned her head to see Jacob leaning against a car, arms crossed, on the far side of the parking lot. She smiled and gave him a small wave which he returned.

"Boyfriend?" Sunday asked, glancing at Jacobs form, clearly checking him out.

Talae's lip twitched unwillingly and she stiffled a possesive growl. She mentally slapped herself. _She's your friend, don't rip her to pieces 'cause she stared at a guy you like.. know, I meant know. Dammit._

"Nah, just a.. friend", she breathed, nervously adjusting the shoulder strap of her bag.

"Ahaha, not with the way he's _looking_ at _you_", she grinned and nudged Talae's shoulder. She blushed furiously and muttered a "shut up". "Anyway, I'll text ya later, bye!". Sunday skipped over to Jack and Candy and they all boarded a red Ford and drove away.

She sighed, convinced that Jacob had heard the whole thing, and grudgingly made her way towards him. _Stupid wolf senses._

"Hey", he laughed, unfolding his arms. He surprised her when he gave her a one-armed hug. _Oh god, he smells so good_... She blushed and smiled, extremely happy the telepathy thing only worked when phased.

"Hey back" she said still smiling.

He opened the passengers door very gallantly for her, grinning, "Mi lady".

She snorted and took the seat offered. He soon lowered himself into the driver's seat and reved the engine, "Who's your new friend?" he smiled.

Her eye twitched. He had heard. _Son of a..._

"Sunday. She's sweet. And smells of beer" she grinned, remembering the sweet smell of her hair.

"That was her? I thought it was one of the teachers or something" he laughed, "Why?"

"Why does she smell of beer? Well, her hair of course", she stated, earning a raised eyebrow and a gesture to elaborate, "she makes her own hair conditioner with honey and beer and stuff. Apparently beer is a profound remedy for hair. She's kinda hippie".

"Ah, I see. I think..." he chuckled, changing gears.

"I think it smells nice", she said, crossing her arms defiantly.

"Well, you're wierd, so" he laughed as she punched his shoulder, "Hey, weird is good". He sent a fond look her way and she had to look away, blushing.

She frowned, remembering her childhood and early teen years, where the word 'weird' often were accompanied by "freak" and "bitch" and other colorful and hurtful words.

"Not always" she murmured, staring out the window.

Jacob noticed her sudden change in mood and laid a comforting hand on her knee. She turned to look at him and a lump formed in his throat when he saw her pained expression. He gave her a reassuring smile. She felt him lightly squeeze her knee, and gave him a sad smile.

"Cheer up buttercup, I got something you might like", he pulled out a CD and put it in the stereo. She stared at him curiously until Linkin Park's "_Papercut_" started playing. She grinned and started tapping her fingers to the beat.

"You got Hybrid Theory? I didn't know you liked this kind of music".

"Are you kidding, who _doesn't_ like Linkin Park?" he smirked.

"True", she smiled and wrapped her arm around his neck, and careful not to take his eyes off the road, she brought his cheek down and kissed it, then released him, "Thank you".

He chuckled and turned to volume higher.

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><p><strong>Review, pwease! Spank you!<strong>


	6. Chapter 5

**Longest chapter so far, yay! Hope you enjoy it.**

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><p>Chapter 5<p>

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><p>"So, what was it like, being the only real freak in Alaska?", Embry, not too gracefully, asked. He took a sip of coke and leaned against the workbench.<p>

Him, Quil, Jacob and Talae was hanging out in the Black's garage, Quil standing beside the car Jacob was currently under, also nursing a can of coke. They were waiting for Leah and Seth to arrive so they could discuss patrol schedules.

Talae sat on the workbench, next to Embry, dangling her long legs over the edge as she thought of an appropriate answer for his question. She didn't let the hurt show on her face, being kind of tender around that particular word, but comforted herself by thinking he didn't mean it in a cruel way.

"Hm, tough one. It was... lonely. Even before I phased. I wasn't exactly popular". _Understatement of the year_, she thought and held back a snort.

"I can't imagine why not", Jacob said, maybe a little too truthfully. He was happy he was under the car at that moment, so she couldn't see the "I did not just say that"-look on his face.

"I agree with Jake, you're a delightful person", Quil said in a whimsical voice and grinned at her.

She smiled softly at him, "I guess, thank you. But I think the students of Highland Tech High would disagree".

"Why?". Embry, the man with the questions.

"Well, picture me as a shy, awkward, anti-mainstream and incredibly shy 10-year old girl. Oh, and 190 lbs" she shrugged, playing with the zipper on her dark violet hoodie.

Embry snorted, "I can't".

"Doesn't change the fact that I was" she smiled at him, though the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"How is that possible, I mean with the wolf genes and all?" Quil pondered, looking slightly confused.

"I don't know. I only know I lost all that weight when I went through the first stages of the phasing. Maybe obesity runs in my family, I think I can recall a few tubby aunts and uncles", she said, chewing on the inside of her cheek.

"Why lonely?" came from Jacob, still under the car, making an occational _clank_ with the metal of the undercarriage.

She stopped playing with the zipper and braced her hands on the table, beside her thighs, and clenched the edge of the metallic surface, willing the painful memories back to the corners of her mind, before she could answer. Quil shot a glare at Jacob's form, hoping he'd realize what he'd done.

"I didn't have many friends, really. You know all the sayings on how children are the embodiment of our virtues, they are the 8th wonder of the world, yada yada yada? Yeah well, not so much. During my middle school years and up until I phased I discovered just how much some children resemble demons". She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, trying to hold the wetness in her eyes at bay. She honestly thought she'd gotten past this, past the anger and pain, but starting anew isn't always as easy as it seems.

Embry softly put a hand on her shoulder and she turned her head to look at him. She found nothing but understanding and care, something she hadn't seen outside her family in a long time.

"I'm sorry I brought it up", he said, grimacing to express his regret.

She smiled at him. He was her _friend_. She felt slightly happier thinking about that. She had _friends_ now.

"It's okay. It's not like that anymore. I have you guys now" she said a little more cheerfully, smiling at Quil too.

"And we're not leaving, you're stuck with us now, hah!" Embry grinned, giving her a sideways hug. She laughed at his sillyness and hugged him back as well as she could.

Jacob pulled himself out from under the car and wiped his hands on a dirty rag, "So, how about that bike you wanted to get?".

She beamed, "I got permission from my folks and everything!". Her eyebrows crinkled for a second in a frown and she looked thoughtful, "I was actually hoping you'd go with me to pick one out, I don't really know anything about the mechanics of a motored vehicle, and you'll be the one fixing it and stuff...".

He raised an eyebrow at her in what looked like disbelief, "Really?".

She threw him a sheepish smile, "Yeah...".

The corner of his mouth drew upwards in half smile-half smirk combination, "Sure, we can go this friday if you want".

"Great! Thank you!", she hopped off the table and ran to hug him around the waist, seeing as he towered over her by at least a head's height. And she wasn't short. As she stood there, pressing her body against his sculpted one, she blushed at her sudden uncharacteristical behavior and quickly thought of letting go, but didn't as she felt his well-defined arms wrap around her too.

He hugged her around the shoulders for a few more seconds and took a deep, quiet breath, inhaling the scent of her velvety, glossy hair. She smelled of sunshine, and citrus. Like sun-kissed skin and fresh acidic fruits. She smelled southern, like she'd just returned from a three week stay in the Caribbean.

Quil and Embry smirked and exchanged knowing looks.

They slowly let go of each other and she gazed up at him, smiling, "Thank you" she repeated. They were still standing so close, she could feel his warm breath fanning over her forehead, tickling into her hair. She tucked her bottom lip in between her teeth as he smiled back down at her.

"Ahem!" Quil cleared his throat with dramatic effect, causing them both to jump away from eachother, faces as red as tomatoes. Embry and he snickered.

"Uh, yeah, uhm, no problem", Jacob stuttered, scratching the back of his neck nervously. She lowered her head, trying to cover her reddened face with her longish bangs.

"Come on you twits, I hear the Clearwater's", Quil smirked and exited the garage, the others eventually following behind.

* * *

><p>That same evening Jacob let himself into Sam and Emily's small, homey home. He'd come to show Sam his pack's schedule for the rest of the month, and for another thing he was curious about. The two alphas had divided the territory between them when it came to patrols; Sam's pack had the west and south, Jacob's north and east. It was very effecient for all parts this way; they covered all fronts, but were still two individual and independent groups.<p>

Embry and Talae were parolling tonight. He'd been pushing that she had to be accompanied by one of the more experienced wolves, but she'd insisted that she could handle it on her own. After she'd gone home he'd threatened Embry with a beating and double shifts if anything happened to her during the night.

"Hi Jake! There's scones on the counter!", he heard Emily shout from the livingroom. He went into the kitchen, teared last month's schedule down from the fridge-door and put up the new one. From the counter he grabbed a scone, knawing on it as he walked to join them.

"Hey Em, Sam", he nodded in greeting and leaned on the doorframe.

"Hey Jake, 'sup?", Sam greeted from his seat on the couch, turning down the volume on the TV, some action movie with a lot of explotions flashing on the screen. Emily had her legs in his lap, resting against the couch arm, reading a book.

"Came by with the monthly agenda list, put it on the fridge", he jerked his thump in the direction of the kitchen and finished the scone, crossing his arms.

"Great. Got Talae worked in there too?" Sam asked, absentmindedly caressing Emily's shins and ankles.

"Yeah, she's actually on watch tonight with Embry", he said. Sam raised his eyebrow and opened his mouth to talk, but Jacob continued before he could, "I know I know, letting newbie out on her own the first night a bad idea. Believe me, I _tried_ getting someone to go with her, _desperately_, but she'd have none of it. She's as stubborn as a mule!". He sighed frustrated, remembering their "yes, no, yes, no" argument.

Sam smirked, "Haha, I bet you're going to have your hands full with that one".

Jacob unconcsiously let a distant smile form on his lips as he also remembered her triumphant and satisfied grin when he'd finally caved, putting her hands on her hips proudly. It was a childish squabble, but he couldn't help laughing at her and her giddy attitude afterwards, something in her eyes and in her smile just made him feel giddy too. His abdomen ached then.

"Jake, hello?" Sams voice intruded on his thoughts.

He shook his head, "Yes?".

The older alpha smirked, a bit too knowingly for Jacobs taste, "Is there anything else? I'm watching Die Hard 4.0 here".

"Oh yeah actually, I have a question" he remembered, but had a hard time now, forming the right words. He sighed, deciding on just putting it in the simplest way possible, "Do you ever physically hurt over Emily? I mean, as your imprint... Like, when you miss her, or you're apart?". He took a few short breaths, completely aware of how stupid he sounded.

Emily lowered the book to her lap and looked at him with a confused frown, but said nothing. Sam raised his eyebrows in surprise, then rolled his eyes up, trying to think about the puzzling question.

After a rather awkward silence he finally asked, "How physical? Like a broken bone or a cut or something?".

Jacob shook his head, trying to define the feeling in his gut, "It's more in the lines of hunger pains, but less. Like a little knot deep in your midriff. It's hard to explain", he grimaced, "it doesn't hurt persay, it's more like an ache really. Am I making any sense?".

Sam just gave him a weird look, "No, frankly. No, I've never physically had hunger pains over Em. Not associated with the wolf-aspect at least". He smirked at Emily, who smacked his arm because of his rude comment.

"Right, it's just me going mad then", he rubbed his face, almost angrily squishing his features together.

Sam gave him an apologetic smile as Emily spoke, "Maybe you should ask your dad?", then her eyes widened, "did you imprint on her?".

He cringed at the pitch in her voice, "I don't know, maybe. It doesn't feel exactly like it's described, I'm so confused. But I feel some kind of link to her, yeah".

"Ask your dad, dude, if anyone knows he knows", Sam said with a nod.

"Yeah, maybe. Thanks anyways guys, I'll see ya later", he gave a small wave, "oh, and thanks for the scone Em, bye!".

He trudged out the house and took a deep breath of the cold night air. The ground was spotted with big patched of snow still, but he had a funny feeling there'd be more in the morning. His mind slowly began to associate the cold white frozen water with the flowing, ivory coat of a certain she-wolf. He thought her beautiful, in both her earthly forms. As he pictured her in his mind, so kind, but stubborn, gentle, but temperamental, withdrawn, but open, the cheesy smile returned to his face as he recalled her giggle and her wolfish toothy smiles.

He sighed and got in his truck as the ache in his stomach region flared slightly. He'd have to ask his dad when he got the time.

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><p>The week went by fast for Talae. In school she became closer friends with Sunday, thoroughly enjoying her bubbling and spacy persona. They just 'clicked', 'popped', whatever they call it. She didn't really put an effort into meeting new people or finding other friends after she met Sunday, it seemed pointless. She had more friends now than all her 17 years before combined, so she felt more than a little blessed and would not push her luck. Besides, she'd never have the time for any more close friends, she'd have to spend most of her time with the pack, not that she minded, and the rest was reserved for Sunday and 'good times'. Including school work.<p>

She had patrol 3 times a week, a pretty good count for a newbie, and a schoolgirl. She enjoyed the time spent in the forests and mountains, enjoyed letting her inner-animal out. And she liked the one on one time she got to spend with her packmembers, getting to know them as individuals too. She was mildly surprised when she found out how little control the guys, and Leah, had over their thoughts when they shared consciousness. They'd spill embarrasing moments or private thoughts when their minds wandered, earning Talae quite a few laughs on their behalf. If _she_ wanted to keep something from them, it was kept from them. No slips of the tongue or stray thoughts. It was an ability she became deeply dependable on, both to keep herself sane and to keep the rest of the pack sane.

She went to Port Angeles with Jacob after school on Friday. He took her to a used cars and motorcycles dealer on the outskirts of town. After the sales-guy tried to rip them off and sell them an overpriced 40-year-old Harley D., Talae set her sights on an oldish Kawasaki dirtbike, all black. Her eyes lit up as Jacob approved it, promising her a new paintjob when he'd worked his magic on it. It was missing a tire and it needed a whole new set of brakes and other small things, but Jacob said it wouldn't be a problem. She let him haggle with the guy since he was the mechanic of the two. Her budget was a clean 3000 dollars and she'd like to pay Jacob for fixing it too, plus now they had to get parts. He pressed the salesman down to 940, grinning as he threw her the keys and she squealed like a banshee, throwing her arms around his waist and almost crushed him. She noticed how the ache in her body stilled when she was around him, even twitching with joy when they touched.

She and Leah spent the whole of Saturday watching horror movies and thrillers, like Disturbia and Resident Evil among others. When night came they went to the forest together, before splitting up when their patrol time was. All night they tried to scare eachother with images and creative imaginings inspired by the films they'd seen, neither succeding in anything other than making the other one laugh.

Sunday was chill-day and she hanged with the pack at the Black resident. She met Rachel, Jacobs big sister, though she was off pretty fast. He told her that she was dating Paul and they spent pretty much all their time together. She could tell it bothered him a bit, but didn't press it. She also met Jacobs father Billy, who she immediately took a liking to. Billy was spirited old man, kind and witty despite his disability. He enjoyed teasing Jacob to no end and made Talae chuckle plenty of times with his fast, clever comments. She was the only one staying for dinner that day, the rest of the pack apparently had other stuff to do. She didn't pig out like she normally did, out of respect for Billy, and some vague feeling she had, telling her to be a lady in front of Jacob. It was nice, sitting there listning to their banter, it was nice to see Jacob in another set of surroundings too. She thanked Billy for the tasty meal and was surprised when he reached up and gave her a light, friendly hug, smiling genuinely at her and saying she could come over any day. Jacob drove her home afterwards, tomorrow was still monday and another school day. When he'd walked her to her front door she'd been feeling both grateful and daring, bold even, and decided to repeat the first time he drove her home's success. She gently, almost teasingly, cupped his face, dragged him down to her level and planted a sweet kiss on his cheek, way to close to his mouth to be a friendly peck. With an "I'll see you" she had gone inside the house, leaving a dumbfounded but blissful Jacob standing on the porch.

When school was out that Monday, she and Sunday walked together through the hallways, talking mostly about arranging a study night since they already had a ton of assignments due next week to do.

"So, I can come over Thursday? Or Wednesday, whatever suits you best I guess? Yeah, let's make it Wednesday" Sunday said with a dazy smile as they stepped out into the parking lot.

Talae chuckled, "Right, Wednesday it is". She spotted Jacob standing by his Rabbit and gave him a small wave. They'd agreed to go to his house today, to look at the dirtbike she'd bought.

"Do you need a ri-oh, nevermind", Sunday giggled as she saw Jacob wave back at her friend, "so what's the deal with you two?".

"What deal, there's no deal, who told you there was a deal, what?" Talae blurted, blushing. Dammit, she didn't want to have this conversation with him within hearing distance.

Sunday snorted and flicked her hair, "Yeah right", she nudged the edgy girl in her ribs, "he's really cute too, or more like delicious. And luscious. And yummy, ripe..." she conjured every embarrassing adjective as Talaes face got redder and redder.

"Okay I get it! He's fucking eatable!", she exclaimed, turning her back to Jacob so he wouldn't see her horrified face. She heard him snickering though...

"And I bet you just wanna pop him in your mouth like a cherry-" Sunday started but a hand flew up at the speed of light to cover her filthy mouth. It was too late though. She could hear Jacob snorting and stuttering to keep in his laughter.

"Okay, okay! Dammit Sunny!" She hissed, before withdrawing her hand as she felt Sunday giggle.

"Heehee, your face is red like a cherry too", she pointed, and before Talae could drop any more f-bombs or chop her head off, she ran to Calebs car, where Candy and Caleb were standing waiting for her. "I'll see you tomorrow Tee!", she waved over her shoulder. That nickname really stuck. She didn't mind though, she just about liked any nickname that didn't include 'freak' or 'loner'.

She let out a frustrated breath and stomped over to Jacobs VW. He went to say something with a devilish smirk on his face, but she shut the door before he could and turned up the stereo to an skull-crushing high, clearly telling him to 'shut up and drive'. He snickered at her again as he took the drivers seat and drove them towards La Push, blasting their usual Linkin Park.

She'd calmed down when they reached his house, completely relaxing to the music. Sighing she stepped out of the car, leaving her bag in it seeing as he'd drive her home anyway, and stretched with a dogish whine.

Jacob stepped into the garage and she quickly followed him in.

"So how was school?" he asked casually, taking off his shirt to put on a dirty white wife-beater. She caught a glimse of that sculped, washboard stomach and had trouble averting her eyes, much less answering his question. Even when his abdomen was covered again she couldn't stop leering at his toned arms and broad shoulders._ Oh boy_.

"Talae? You still there?". She looked up at his face with a slightly opened mouth and saw him smirking. _Goddammit, caught red-handed_.

"Uh, school was... fine", she mentally cursed herself and whipped around, turning on the radio instead of further undressing him with her eyes.

"Yeah? I like your friend Sunday. She's very... forward", she could _feel_ him smirking.

"Yeah, she's a real peach" she murmured through gritted teeth, taking off her sweater to reveal her tight, black camisole. It went well with her skinny jeans that gave her an ass to die for, and her favorite red Converse shoes, and she heard him draw in a sharp breath. She smirked; two could play that game.

"_Smooth Criminal_" by Michael Jackson started playing on the radio and she looked over her shoulder at him, only to find him biting his lower lip while looking her backside over rather imaginatively.

She smirked, "_You_ still there Jacob?".

He looked dazed for a moment, "Uh what? Yeah sure, right...". He fumbled for a moment then stopped, trying to collect himself, before he grumbling picked up a wrench and started working on her bike.

She snorted comically as she put her hair up in a high ponytail. She swayed to the music as she walked to his side, "I know I can't help you with this, at all, but you could let me be your assistant? I know tools".

He didn't take his eyes off the bike, but managed to croak out a "Sure".

They became more comfortable with each other as they worked, she was a good assistant Jacob remarked. They got most of the easy work done, luckily he had a pair of almost new brakes for it lying around, now they'd just need to go get a set of new tires and the paintjob done. And a helmet.

"So how about I pick you up friday, we'll go to Port Angeles and get those tires?" he asked when they were done, wiping his hands on an already dirty rag.

She took the rag from him when offered, wiping her own stained hands, "Uh, yeah, sure. Sounds good".

"Great" he smiled, "You wanna come inside, get something to drink?".

She was rather thirsty, "Yessir, much obliged" she grinned and followed him into the cosy Black home.

She kicked her shoes off at the door and tailed him into the kitchen. He tossed her a can of soda from the fridge and got one himself before they vacated to the livingroom. Billy was apparently not home, Jacob said he was probably roaming La Push or Forks, or getting groceries. He was surprisingly mobile for a wheelchair user.

Jacob threw himself onto the couch and lazily put his feet on the coffeetable, opening the can in his hand and turning on the TV. Talae sat herself down so her back leaned on the coucharm, and sipped her soda. She dared draping her legs across his lap; they'd gotten so comfortable around each other the past week. This touchy business with your friends, like armlinking and hugs and tackles, she wasn't used to it, but she liked it. It was nice to recieve a random hug, or even a playful tackling from her wolven brothers or sister. It just made them become that much closer.

She sipped her soda again, watching Jacob zap through the channels trying to find something not deadly boring to watch. He settle on a rerun of the Simpsons.

"Good choice", she approved. He grinned at her and they sat in silence for a while, laughing and snickering at the show.

"What's it like living in Alaska?", Jacob suddenly asked, finishing his soda and crushing the can, tossing it on the coffeetable.

She thought about it for a minute. She'd lived there all her life so she had nowhere to compare it to. It had been cold before she phased, duh. She hadn't had much to live for there, not much to keep her going, so she couldn't tell him it was all peachy. But from a objective point of view it was a nice place, she guessed.

"It, well, it's nice. I guess like any other place. Though the sun shines a bit more than here", she smiled, trying to think of more nice memories she had from living in Anchorage.

"Hah, yeah. You'd think we'd all be pale as bloodsuckers from the lack of vitamin D", he huffed. He paused, eyeing her, trying to figure her out, before asking, "You weren't happy there, were you?".

She bit her lower lip, "Am I really that easy to see through?".

He turned off the TV and smiled at her, "Nah, but you did disclose some pretty revealing information the other day, I just got a feeling it went deeper". His eyes caught hers and she got the feeling she could trust him, almost blabbered out her entire sappy life story right then and there. She managed to hold her tongue though.

He put his hands firmly on her legs, as if he thought she'd get up and start running. _That sounds good right about now, actually..._

"How did you deal with the bullying Talae?" he asked sincerely, without an ounce of judgement.

She blinked the sudden oncoming tears away, "Not in a good way". She sat her empty can on the coffeetable, then started picking her nails, an old nervous habit she had yet to get rid of.

"How 'not in a good way'?", he raised an eyebrow. Was it really that bad that she wouldn't even talk about it? Wasn't it in the past?

"Well, at first I-I just got sad, depressed... Sometimes when it went too far I got angry and got into fights. My parents thought I was acting out, I didn't tell them about the ridicule. I- I...", she sighed, "I can't lie to you so I don't feel comfortable telling the rest". She had to stop now or she'd lose her entire new family, she thought. She didn't know how they'd react to her darkish past, if they would accept her if they knew how weak she could be.

She looked down at her fingernails, trying hard not to rip them down to the cuticle. Before she could react Jacob scooped her into his lap and cradled her in his arms. He caressed her cheek with his thumb, wiping away tears she hadn't noticed running down her face. He felt so warm, welcoming and understanding, she'd never battled so much to keep from sobbing and wringing out her heart. She took a deep breath or two to try and steady herself and instead of giving in to the need of crying her eyes out, she focused on the feel of him, focused on how he just held her without saying anything, just looked at her with genuine care, .

"You don't have to tell me, but maybe it's just what you need to, to let go", he murmured, so close she could feel his breath on her neck.

"Okay", she started with a shaky breath, "Okay". She looked into his eyes, searching them for the slightest hint of resentment, anger, disgust, but when she found none but encouragement and acceptance, she went on, "I... became somewhat... self-destructive...".

She glanced at him, a slight confused frown on his face. She quickly went on, "It wasn't so bad at first... but then, _she_ died and I-" she cut herself off, stifling an angry sob, anger directed towards her own weakness.

"Who died Talae?" he asked softly, giving her time to collect herself again. He stroked her fingers absentmindedly and it helped her calm down.

"Jaime, my only friend, the first and only person who ever understood me. She just.. died. Gone. Buried, dead", tears rolled down her cheeks, but she didn't break down whimpering just yet. Her shoulders were shaking slightly and he instinctively clutched her closer.

"It got worse after that. I didn't want to be alive anymore, I felt lost. I tried to-", she couldn't say it, she held out her left wrist instead, letting him draw his own conclusion.

He took her hand in his, holding it closer to his face. He saw a two long, but very faded scars running down her forearm. They were about four inches in length. Around her wrist were even more scars, almost impossible to see. They were much smaller and in random positions.

"You tried to kill yourself?", he tried to remain calm. The thought of someone hurting her so much she didn't want to be apart of this world anymore was rage-inducing. He wasn't angry at her, he was angry at society.

"Yes", she whispered, not entirely sure how to react to his subtle display of rage. But as he looked at her, it faded away and was replaced with hurt. He tugged her closer and she willingly buried her face in the crook of his neck.

She had no idea why she was so comfortable talking about this with him, she'd known him for a little over a week. _This is insane_, she thought, but he just felt so damn comforting she never wanted to let go of him. And he was right, she did feel better finally letting it all out, finally sharing her secret.

"It was only a few days later that I phased for the first time. When I'd... done it, that night, I passed out in my room, but woke the next day and the cuts for almost gone...", she continued, the tears coming to a slow, but sure, halt.

"Wolf genes", Jacob smiled softly, toying with her hair.

"Yeah", she breathed. Then her phone beeped. "Shit, what time is it?". She sat up and pulled her cellphone out of her pocket. It was a text from her mom, telling her to be home by ten. The clock only showed seven.

"Around 7 I think", Jacob said, missing her warmth already. She relaxed and leaned back into his embrace, much to his delight, and thoroughly rubbed her face free of tears.

They sat in silence for a minute. "Thank you", she whispered, fidgeting with her hands.

He knew shat she meant, "No problem Tee. Besides, best there be no secrets in the pack, we're family".

She smiled up at him as he smiled down on her. Then she realized how close they were. His lips were only inches from her own and suddenly they looked very eatable. _Damn you Sunday. _She parted her lips slightly, just thinking about it. The ache in her gut acknowledged their closeness and gave off an utterly pleasureable feeling.

"Talae...", he whispered, also realizing how close they were. Her faced flushed a light red and her lips were looking so plumb and...

He couldn't stop himself from closing that meager space between them and gently touched her lips with his own, satisfiying the aching in his own stomach.

For a second she froze, not completely sure if this was a dream or not, but she quickly gave in to the marvelous feeling that vibrated inside of her and kissed him back. She rose to her knees and in a swift movement straddled him on the couch, not breaking the kiss. She buried her hands in his hair as his caressed and stroked up and down her sides and hips.

God, he felt great. Like a series of explosions her skin ignited everywhere he touched, leaving her craving more. He flicked his tongue over her lower lip and she eagerly slipped her own out to met his. _This is crazy_, she tried to reason with herself, but another, stronger voice kept telling her _Yeah, crazy good_.

She wondered how they could be doing this right after she'd poured her heart out and cried on his shoulder, but the thought quickly vanished from her mind as his hands went lower and stroked her thighs, slightly dragging the rim of her jeans down and drawing torturously slow circles around her hipbones with his thumb.

She withdrew from his mouth and let out a low moan. His breath hitched in his throat and he tried hard to fight the growing tension in his nether regions. She looked at him through hooded eyes, biting her lower lip enticingly. He groaned when she leaned in and nibbled at the tender flesh below his ear. He almost bucked his hips when she not so gently bit down at the nape of his neck, growling when pain mixed with pleasure. She licked and suckled the tender spot, before returning to his lips to place lush kisses on them while her hands came down to draw lazy patterns on his chest.

"Jacob", she whispered, sending shivers down his spine. Withdrawing from him he saw the evil smirk on her face, "Your dad's home".

The corner of his mouth twitched as he also heard the rumbling engine of his fathers truck come closer. She gave him one last chaste kiss before returning to sit against the coucharm as before, legs in his lap, grinning evilly at him. She turned on the TV as he heard the truck come to a stop out front.

She didn't know what had come over her, but right now she couldn't bring herself to care. She continued to smirk at Jacob, who looked like he'd just woken up from a glorious dream only to find out it wasn't real, as Billy came in through the front door.

"Hey kids, how are ya?", he said in greeting, wheeling into the livingroom.

"Hey Billy, fine thanks", Talae replied smiling at him, earning one back.

"Good good. Son?", he asked, looking at Jacob with a raised eyebrow.

Jacob was still looking dumbfounded at Talae, fingering the fabric of her jeans, "Huh?".

Billy eyed him, then huffed and rolled out into the kitchen, mumbling something about 'teens these days'.

She giggled as Jacob mentally slapped himself. "You're pure evil, you know that?" he eyed her, still playing with her jeans.

She grinned and blew him a kiss, "Aw, don't be like that, pup" she popped the 'p', getting a positively disgruntled glare thrown her way.

"Talae, are you staying for dinner?" Billy shouted from the kitchen. She could hear him taking out pots and pans, and she could smell the vegetables and the meat he got out from the fridge. How could she say no to that?

"Sure Billy, thank you!", she shouted back. Jacob was still eyeing her and she couldn't help but laugh at him.

She sat up and scooted close to his side as he put his arm around her shoulders, "Thank you Jacob, for listening to my crap". She tugged a stray hair behind her ear and leaned into his body.

"Don't even mention it", he replied, tugging her even closer.

She smiled. They stayed on the couch, watching TV, 'till Billy yelled at them to get their asses in the kitchen. When he'd driven her home later, she still gave him that sweet, to-close-to-the-mouth-to-be-friends cheek peck and bid him goodnight.

On his way home he came to think of all the madness that was taking place in his life. He'd almost totally forgotten about Bella, his 'former' best friend. He wasn't sure what to call them anymore, sure they talked, but nothing would ever be the same now that she was a leech, married to a leech with a half leech baby. No offense to Renesmee of course, she was a cute kid.

That reminded him of how he still had to take Talae to see the Cullens, his main 'fear' being that she'd attack them on sight if she ever came across them, not knowing who they were. Or vice versa. He had yet to show her the treaty line too.

He got a warm feeling streaming through his body at the thought of her. Was this what it was like to have an imprint? His dad hadn't had much of an answer to his achey stomach problem, he said he'd have to consult with the rest of the tribe. And then there was that little kissing session on the couch earlier. It had just been so mindnumbing-ly good, so... right. He knew they were moving a bit fast, but he couldn't really bring himself to give a rats ass. She didn't seem to mind anyway...

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><p><strong>Alright! I had a little trouble writing this chapter, but I can't think of any improvements without rewriting the whole damn thing (and I'm not doing that). Since I don't have a beta-reader I'm spellchecking this myself, so if you find any mistakes write me so I can fix it!<strong>

**Review thank you, or I'll think you don't care and stop writing, nyah! Jk, but seriously, review make me happy :3**


	7. Chapter 6

**Alright! Update time! Thanks for the wonderful reviews. Hope you enjoy it.**

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><p>Chapter 6<p>

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><p>Talae trotted in through the front door of her house. She had walked home from school today, her parents were at work and she'd declined Jacobs offer of driving her home; she didn't want to take advantage of his generosity no more than necessary. No, it was best that she walked. Or, ran, rather. She kept a pretty steady pace all the way home; it felt good to stretch her human legs a bit too.<p>

It was Wednesday and Sunday was coming over in an hour or so. So as soon as she'd kicked off her shoes and thrown her stuff in her room, she cleared what little debris laid on her bedroom floor, and put out the snacks and the energy drinks her mom had gotten for them yesterday. No reason not to make this study session fun too.

The evening went well. As well as two hyped-up-on-Monster giggleing teenage-girls, who'd rather dance around the house than do homework or be outside in a snowball-fight, could be, anyway. Not that they didn't study, mind you. The snowball-fight and their crazy dancing just took up more time. But they did get the schoolwork done what they'd plan to, they were just smarter than they thought they were... apparently...

She managed to keep tight about her and Jacob kissing, even though Sunday made one hell of a try trying to get her to spill the beans. Not saying she didn't think about it, boy did she think about it. But Sunday proved a good distraction from her paranoid and preposterous thoughts on the subject.

When Sunday finally went home though, she was left alone with her mind. She laid awake, like she had the nights before, thinking about it in great detail, trying to figure out why it happened, how it happened, even what had happened.

She managed to drag her ass to school for another two days, even as she was running on four hours of sleep, tops. Trying to analyze the current Jacob-situation was driving her mad, insane, bonkers, koo-koo. Overthinking it in massive degrees. And on top of that he was going to pick her up from school that day to go to Port Angeles, for parts for that _stupid_ bike she just _had_ to _have_. And she had no idea how to react or act around him now, they hadn't seen each other since it happened, having no chance to talk about it, leaving her all sorts of room to conjure up her own damn theories. This was not a situation she was familiar with. And, okay, the dirtbike was not stupid, she loved it to death already. _Dammit_.

She'd fallen asleep during last period's Psychology, after she'd done her presentation, and now she was being brutally shaken by someone, telling her to get up off her arse and get in gear.

Luckily when she looked up with sleepy, bloodshot peepers, it was the deep blue ocean eyes of Sunday that looked back.

"Huh?", she managed to croak out, fully prepared to drop her head down onto her folded arms again.

"Come on sleepy-head, we're done here", she grinned and dragged Talae to her feet. She yawned and stretched before picking up her bag and with heavy steps followed her brightly cheery friend down the halls and out into the parkinglot.

"So what are you doing this weekend?", Sunday asked, picking out ripped pieces of paper out of Talaes birds nest of hair. How they'd gotten there, she had no idea.

"Uhm, working on the bike, chillaxing with the guys, oh and getting started on that english paper", she grumbled out the last part. Oh how she hated MacBeth.

"Sounds orgasmic", Sunday said in a very serious voice, earning a slightly disturbed look from Talae.

"... Right...", she continued to eye her friend as they stepped out into the sunshine. _Yes_, she thought, _vitamin_ _D_.

"Oh look, it's your lover", the blonde girl grinned, waving enthusiastically at the tall, dark and handsome guy standing by his red VW.

Her upper lip twitched, but she had given up trying to correct her. Since Talae hadn't told her anything about what had happened, but Sunday was smart enough to know _something_ had happened, she'd been spinning her own outlandish tales of what she thought had occured, ranging from a feathery kiss to downright porn.

She heard Jacob chuckled. Great, how many times did this have to happen?

"What is he, like 26?", Sunday suddenly wondered, "what does he do, since he's almost always here to pick you up?".

Talae snorted, "more like 17, genius. I.. I guess he goes to school on the rez? I dont know...".

Sundays eyes went wide, "You don't know... Really?", she turned to Talae, "He's Quileute, right? I hear most of them are some hardcore health freaks. At least, that's the rumors". She leaned in and whispered, "is it true they all got rock-hard bodies?".

Talae let out a hearty laugh, "Yes, yes it is". She put her hand on Sundays shoulder, "I'll introduce you some time" she winked at her.

She squealed and jumped a few times before settling down again. She cleared her throat then leaned back towards her native friend. "Uh, sounds cool..." she murmured, acting as if she didn't just scream like a crazed fangirl.

Talae rolled her eyes and shook her head, but remained silent. She spotted Caleb trying to get Sunday's attention and tapped her friend on the shoulder, "Someone's trying to communicate with you Sunny", she jerked her head in his direction. Sunday whipped around and grinned, then whipped back to give Talae a quick hug before running off, shouting goodbye over her shoulder.

She rolled her eyes again and marched over to where Jacob surveyed the whole thing, looking mildly amused.

She pointed her index finger at him and said in a low voice, "One word big guy, and I'll castrate you with a pair of dull scissors".

He held up his hands in defense and grinned, but said nothing as they climbed into the car.

To her surprise, the drive to Port Angeles wasn't that bad. He acted like he had before, so she did the same, and they quickly fell back into talking and joking comfortably with each other.

They got the parts with money to spare and Jacob promised her that the bike would be up and running in a week, two weeks tops.

"So, how come you have so much time on your hands?", she asked as they stepped inside a diner a little outside of town. The time read 18:38, late Talae thought. Not late in the sense that she'd giving her parents fair warning she'd be home late. It was more considered late by the two young shapeshifters in the sense that they hadn't eaten anything all damn day, and were practically starving.

"I graduated last year, so I do small jobs here and there, waiting for the money to start a work and repairs shop", he shrugged as they say down by the diner's front windows, gaining a unobstructed view of the street.

She raised her eyebrow quizically, "Graduated? How old are you?".

He chuckled and leaned on the table with his elbows, "How old do you _think_ I am?".

She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, inspecting his earthly form as she had many times before, althought not for the same reasons...

She was silent for a minute. "Well you _look_ 25. But I'm guessing, since you so kindly informed me that you graduated, 18. Or are you a late bloomer?", she smirked.

He huffed, also leaning back in his chair, "Pff, late bloomer my ass. I actually started school a bit early, mind you. But yes, I'm 18", he stuck his tongue out at her.

"Very mature Jacob", the smirk still firmly planted on her face. He kicked her under the table as she laughed at him.

A woman in her forties came by their table, chewing on a knot of pink gum, "What'll ya have dearies?".

Even though she smelled overwhelmingly like deep fried _whatever_, Talae managed to keep from gagging and ordered a clubsandwich with a side of mozzeralla sticks. Mmh, smelted cheese...

Jacobs nostrils flared uncomfortably when he also noticed her greasy scent and Talae couldn't hold her laughter in, earning a questioning stare from the older waitress. He even tried to close of the airway to his nose and breathe with his mouth as he ordered a cheeseburger with fries, giving his normally deep, rumbling voice a comical nasal touch, making Talae hold her stomach it hurt so much from laughter. The waitress scribbled down their order and got them both their designated drinks.

"Oh my god, Jacob, that was hil-ow!", she winched as he kicked her again after they got their beverages.

"How could you not gag at that?", he asked, repeatedly blowing hard puffs of air out his nose as to clear it.

She grinned at him, the pain in her shin already gone, "Because my mother raised me to be a polite and well-mannered girl" she said proudly, and mockingly, straightening her back and lifting her nose to the ceiling. "Ow! Jacob stop kicking me, I'll bruise...", she reached under the table and rubbed her shin after his last booting.

"Yeah yeah, if you say so", he snorted, "so, I have to tell you something".

"Hmm?", she took a sip of coke, slightly interested.

"Your dad told you about the Cullens, right?", he asked, shifting to leaning his forearms on the table again.

"Uhm yeah, they're like, vegetarians or something, right?", she lowered her voice and leaning over the table too. Luckily for them the diner had about 6 patrons in all, most of them sitting far enough away for them to talk privately.

"Yeah, something like that. It means they only drink animal blood and are into preserving human life", he explained, "they have been living here for a while now, they are a pretty big coven".

Talae nodded, indicating for him to continue.

"Their "heads of house" are Dr. Carlisle and Esme Cullen, they're married and act like the mom and dad", he continued to explain about the other vampires in the coven, Rosalie and Emmett, Alice and Jasper and Edward and Bella. She noticed his tone changed when he mentioned this Bella person and how his eyes flashed with pain for a second, but decided not to press it.

"And Edward and Bella now have a little girl, Renesmee, she's about a year and a half now", he looked up at her and noticed the confused look on her face, "what?".

"Adopted or...?" she asked, raising and eyebrow. Did they change a little girl, or was she human?

"Oh! No, uhm... Bella had her before she turned, she's a hybrid, half human half leech", he answered and the confusion on Talaes face lessened, "Don't ask me how".

"Right", she said as their food was placed before them. She smiled at the waitress and started digging in like she hadn't been fed in a month.

They ate in silence for a while. Chewing on a fry he finally continued, "So, some of the Cullens have special powers you should be aware of. Alice is precognitive, she has future sight, but mostly when it will impact her life or the life of someone she cares about. Though the future isn't absolute, it changes all the time. Her husband, Jasper, has pathokinesis, or whatever, he can feel what you feel and influence your emotions", he paused, making sure Talae was still following him, he continued as she nodded, " Edward is a mind-reader, plain and simple. So try not to think of any embarrasing things when he's around". He cringed a little, remembering the times he'd so often thought of something he didn't want anyone to know and _bam_, there was Edward. _Prick_.

"Sounds... horrible", she raised her eyebrows and twitched her upper lip, just thinking about the invaded privacy.

"Yeah, it can most definently be a pain in the ass. His wife Bella though, she has this shield thing... She can do so much with it, use it like a plastic wrapper or like a giant dome. But it only stops like, mind attacks like Eddy-boys telepathy or illusions and stuff..." his words faded as he saw the utterly confused look on Talaes face, "I've lost you haven't I?".

She nodded her head vigurously, "Like, a mile ago".

He let out a light chuckle, "Yeah, it gets confusing. Renesmee can put images in your head by touching you and if you got a shield ability, like Bella, she can bypass it with no problem. But really, you just gotta watch out for Edwards mind-tricks, and maybe Jasper a bit, but you get use to it". He took a sip of coke, pretty tired of doing all the talking now.

"Get use to it? Jacob, how much do you hang with these bloodsuckers?", she said as she popped another cheese stick in her mouth.

"Actually, a lot. My - our pack become closer with them after Renesmee was born", he told her about the whole deal with the Volturi and how they had come to kill what they thought were an "immortal child", and so on and so forth. When he was done telling her, they'd finish both their meals and Jacob waved the waitress over and had paid for the both of them.

"Trouble really follow these people, huh?" she gulped down the last of her soda and wiped her mouth.

"Yeah, it's gotten quiet over the last year though, its nice", he shrugged.

"So, why are you telling me this now? Am I going to meet them soon?", she then asked, still trying to process and remember all the things he'd told her.

"Yeah, actually. If you're free this weekend I'd like to take you to meet them?", he smiled.

She let the surprise wash over her face before she regained her cool, clearing her throat, "Right, yeah, I'm free, sure. I'd _love_ to go meet a whole family of leeches, marble hard, strong as rhinos, bloodthirsty... leeches..." the last part of her sentence faded as she sighed and looked down at her hands in her lap. She'd never met any kind of vampire that didn't try to tear out her jugular at the first sight of her, understandably that she would be a little apprehensive getting in a room with eight of them, oh and a hybrid child. _Great, just, freaking great_.

He saw her hesitation, and he did hear her rather pessimistic comment, "Don't worry Tee, I won't let them hurt you".

She looked up to find him smiling at her, and everything looked a little brighter. She grinned back at him, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, "You better not".

He let out a laugh as he stood from the table and grabbed her hand as she stood to follow him out, "I won't, I promise". He brought her hand up to his face and placed a light, long kiss to her knuckles, holding her eyes with his own deep, dark, chocolate orbs.

_Mmh_, _chocolate_... She blushed and bit her lip, thinking back to how those lush lips felt on her own, how warm and electrified his hands were as they grazed the skin on her hips...

He smirked, probably seeing right through her, and turned to lead her out the diner, never letting go of her hand.

* * *

><p>Jacob arranged for Talae and him to visit the Cullens the following day, Saturday. He told them they'd be over around 11, in time for "brunch".<p>

He glanced over at her; she was staring intently out the car window, almost unconsciously picking away at her fingernails as her hands rested in her lap. At least I'm not biting them anymore, she thought, fighting the urge to chew the now jagged edges of her nails down to bloody bits.

Were they going to like her? No, fuck liking, were they just _not_ going to _kill_ her? That was all she asked for, really. She liked being alive.

She had even called Leah Friday night when she'd gotten home, asking her advice just _dealing_ with it, and, of course, her take on the Cullens. Leah had been somewhat helpful... Not. She had told her nervous friend to "calm down" and "it'll be alright", telling her that even though they were bloodsuckers, they were "good people". Still wrapped up in her previous experience with vampires, Talae was, to say the least, still very skeptical of the whole situation.

She jumped and sucked in a surprised fill of air as a big hand came to lay on her thigh. Her eyes snapped away from the scenery bluring past them outside and moved over Jacobs kind face, seeing the comforting smile he held.

"It's going to be fine. You're acting like I'm bringing you before the mafia", he chuckled, shifting his eyes between her and the road.

"Might as well be", she sighed, but put her own hand over his and gave it a hard squeeze nonetheless. She took several deep breaths, staying as calm as she could as they pulled off the mainroad and down a wide dirtpath. She saw a bit of roof mixed with wood panels and dark grey walls coming up in the distance between the tall trees that surrounded them. The Cullen clan sure liked their privacy. But then again, it was almost mandatory with them being the scourge of the earth and so forth...

They rapidly approached the huge, architectual-dream mansion and soon enough Jacob had parked the car and were waiting for her in front of the house. She, however, had every intension of staying in the car. She crossed her arms and turned her head away from Jacobs irksome stare.

Cursing under his breath he marched back to the car's passenger side and pratically ripped the door open. Talae gave a squeak as he dragged her out of the red car and flung her over his shoulder, kicking and trashing, screaming bloody murder.

He was sure all the leeched had gathered around the windows by now, probably amused greatly by their little display. He smirked to himself, tightening his grip on the flailing girl on his shoulder

She settled down a bit when he'd gone up the front step and the few feet to their front door. He hesitated for a second before he dumped her back on the ground in front of him. She landed stifly on her feet and glared at him for a long while, blowing stray hair out of her face.

He held her eyes, half curious and half daring her to try and make a move. They continued to glare at each over as his hand raised to ring the doorbell. He pressed the button for a few seconds, and as soon as she heard shuffling on the other side of the door she bolded for the car.

"_Stay_!", his alpha voice bellowed before she could take more than two steps. Her body stopped awkwardly in mid-run and her face twitched trying to disobey his order with every fiber of her being. She lost the fight and begrudgingly turned back around and stepped up beside him. He smirked at her. She mouthed the words "fuck you" as the door began to open.

Holding her breath as it opened fully, she saw a beautiful woman with dark caramel hair and amber eyes standing there with a slightly curious look on her kind face looking at them both. Talae frowned at her eye color; crimson was the only color she had ever come across. She assumed the difference might have something to do with her diet.

She smiled at Talae and then turned to Jacob, "Hello Jacob dear, it's nice to see you", she said, a motherly vibe to her voice.

"You too Esme", he stepped forward and pecked her cheek, "This is Talae our new pack memb- is that french toast I smell?", he started, then sniffed the breeze from the house and went hurridly inside past Esme, leaving Talae all by herself with the leech matriarch. _I will_ kill _him_.

Dammit. It was too late to run now, the vamp had already seen her and was now looking at her with a gentle smile.

"Uh... Hi...", she tried, sticking out a shaky hand.

Esme warmly took it into her own two cold hands, "Nice to meet you Talae. I'm not going to bite you dear, now come inside and have something to eat". She stepped off to the side to allow the poor girl free passage, giving her shoulder a light push to get her going.

Talae cautiously stepped into the house, gawking at the grand interior of the manor. Jacob had been right, the delicious scent of french toast tinted the air around her, mixing with the viscid sweet scent of vampires, coming from what she assumed was the kitchen. Esme shut the door behind her and gestured her to follow as she glided gracefully through the house. Talae followed the best she could, trying to take in the modern, intriguing house and remember to breath through her mouth until she could stand the overwhelmingly sticky smell that covered the entire structure and every inch of the air. The hall edded out into a large lounging area and the syrupy smell thickened in tackt with her noticing the five leeches hanging out there. Mother Vamp walked over to a fair haired man that shared her eyes. Talae stood awkwardly, shifting her weight back and forth on her feet, almost piercing the delicate skin on her lower lip the way she was gnawing on it.

The blonde man stepped forward with a friendly smile, "Hello Talae, I'm Dr. Carlisle Cullen, it's a pleasure to have you with us today". They shook hands and she mustered a half smile, but was slightly feeling better overall, relieved at their kind personalities. She could pratically feel the love seeping out of Esme.

"Thank you", she said, the words barely above a whisper as she looked at the other, so far, silent vampires in the room.

"Well, let us introduce you to the family", Carlisle smiled, gesturing for her to stand beside him and she moved to do so. Esme came around her back and stood on her other side and put her delicate hand on her shoulder; leaving absolutely no escape routes available. She could hear laughter and voices, including Jacob's, comming from the presumed kitchen, but her focus was on the two pairs of leeches in front of her, desperately fighting her natural instinct to phase and rip their head off. _Right, which one is the mind-reader_? she thought to herself, trying to think random thoughts. No problem there though, her mind was already going two hundred miles an hour.

"Talae, this is-", before Dr. Cullen could finish his sentence the smallest vampire in the bunch lept forward with an excited squeel and hugged her around the torso, barely reaching Talae's chin with the top of her head. An involentary growl escaped the young she-wolf as the sickening sweet scent completely flooded her nose and the impish girl stepped back quickly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snarl at you", Talae grimaced, but the fae-like being just smiled at her and clasped her hand instead.

"It's no problem, I remember the issues Jake use to have with us too. I'm Alice", she chirped, her voice like a gospel of little crystal bells. Her hair was short and raven with a purple shine to it and complemented her spunky attitude. Her excited behavior rubbed of a bit on Talae and she felt herself smile and relax, if only a tiny bit. This one she could like.

"Nice to meet you Alice", she smiled politely and stood a little straighter. Alice beamed at her as another vampire stepped up to her side, intertwining his fingers with Alice's. The pixie gave him a loving smile.

"And this is my one true love, Jasper", she said turning back to Talae with a grin that seemed to brighten the room.

He had a head of soft golden honey curls and tawny eyes that were so very similar to the rest of the family. His neck and parts of his jaw were covered in almost invisible cresent scars, like teethmarks, but it didn't take away from his handsome features and he stood straight, unwavering, making Talae think she stood infront of an experienced and victorious warrior.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance Miss", he said in a smooth south-state accent that fit his character all too well, and they shook hands.

"Like wise", she responded with a small lopsided smile, noticing the skin on his wrists were also scarred.

The couple stepped off to the side as a bear of a man moved forward, putting out his humongous lion's paw for her to shake. She slowly took his hand, watching her palm dissappear, and shook it. He purposly clenched her hand a bit too hard, and she thought of the way Sam, and Paul, had "tested" her the same way when they met, and squeezed his hand a bit hard, too, making some of his joints pop. He grinned at her little power-display before releasing her hand again. She noticed his dimples, going as far as to call them cute, when he smiled and his dark, cropped hair contrasted with his marble skin.

"Another she-wolf, eh? I'm Emmett, vampire extraordinair and I'll be attending all your entertaining needs this afternoon", he said, bowing in a very theatrical manner, his grin teasing and mischievous. She almost immediatly liked his humorous approach to the situation, and couldn't help but return his grin.

"Aren't you a little bulky for a leech?", she teased, noting how big he was in comparison to the rest, having the physique of a weight lifter and the height of a basketball player.

He clutched his chest mockingly, "Ouch, vicious this one".

She let out a small chuckle as he winked at her. She stopped chuckling rather abruptly though, as the last unknown bloodsucker stepped up and wrapped a slender arm around Emmetts. She had long, straight blonde hair and chilly eyes, though her figure and features were more than model-worthy. She shot Talae a cold look, before smiling, rather fakely, and stuck out her petite hand, "Hi, I'm Rosalie, wife of Emmett here".

Talae gave her hand a quick shake, actually believing that her hand was colder than the rest's, and gave her a polite smile, "Hi".

"Oh, I'm so excited you're here! We'll have so much fun!", Alice exclaimed, "I love you're tomboy look, it's very vogue", she said, referring to Talae's old jeans with holes in the knees and black tanktop with a Killswitch Engage logo on the front. She'd respectfully taken of her converse shoes at the door, leaving her in rainbow colored toe-socks.

She raised an eyebrow skeptically, wiggling her toes, looking over Alice's high-fashion clothed figure, "Right".

"Are you hungry dear?", Esme smiled, and, as if on cue, Talaes stomach let out a low rumble. She hadn't eaten breakfast yet, so it was quite understandable.

She smiled sheepishly, "I guess so". Esme gestured her towards Jacobs voice and lead the way. They entered a largish kitchen with a long isle in the center where Jacob was currently sitting, munching on a breakfast platter. She immediatly stomped up to him and wacked him hard on the head.

"OW! What was that for, Tee?", he winced and rubbed his now sore head, possitive that if he hadn't been part supernatural wolf he'd have a cracked cranium.

"For leaving me all by myself in a strang place, that's what assface!", she shouted right back at him, almost wacking him again when he stuck his tongue out at her if it wasn't for the plate Esme quickly shoved into her hands with a disarming smile.

She huffed, but sat down at the isle besides Jacob anyway and started on the eggs right away.

It was only when she'd stuffed her mouth with egg and toast that she noticed the three pairs of stranger's eyes on her. She hurriedly swallowed the food, nearly choking in the process.

"Uhm, hi... I'm Talae", she wiped her hand on her jeans and stuck it out for the nearest one to shake, who happened to be a beautiful woman with long, slightly wavy, dark mahogany hair and kind amber eyes. She smiled, although a bit confused, and gently shook Talaes outstretched hand.

"I'm Bella, nice to meet you", she said, her voice a light, appeasing jingle, much like Alice's angel-like voice, "and this is my husband and daughter, Edward and Renesmee". She indicated to a lean man with copper curls and a child with his hair and deep brown eyes, playing with a picture book. Edward stood up after smiling at Renesmee, and gave Talae a lopsided smile, "Hello".

They shook hands, and Edward turned towards the little girl still on the floor. She looked like she was around seven or eight years old, "Renesmee, come say hello to our guest".

The child stood up and smoothed out the crinkles in her dark burgundy dress before walking up to Talae with an elegant small outstretched hand and a twinkle in her eyes.

"Hello Talae, it's awful nice to meet you", she said, her voice so much like her mothers, but lighter and more carefree. She was an adorable child, Talae had to admit, and she gladly shook her tiny hand.

"Nice to meet you too Renesmee", she smiled. She gasped as an image of the child hugging her around the legs sprung to her mind, triggering a slight feeling of "I'm glad to see you"-joy. She remembered Jacobs explanation of the small hybrids powers and smiled down at the small girl. Renesmee grinned back, feeling very accepted and ran into Emmetts bear-arms. He happily picked her up and sat her on his shoulders.

Talae was thankful that she didn't have to shake anymore hands now. She could feel how her right hand had become considereably colder than the left since she stepped through the Cullens front door. She frowned at it as she flexed her fingers back and forth, only content when the temparature returned to normal.

"It's very nice to meet you all, really. And this is delicious Esme, thank you", she said to the crowd around her, nodding in turn to Esme who smiled. There was a whole lot of smiling going on, a lot more than what she'd initially believed. An image of death and destruction with blood everywhere and leech parts spread across the floor had been what was originally on her mind.

"Ouch, I am for one glad it didn't turn out that way", Edward said, a slightly pained expression on his face, which turned into a smirk at Talae stared at him disbelieving. _Right, telepath, get it together Talae_! She mentally slapped herself and shot Edward a glare as she finished her breakfast. Least to say she didn't appreciate the privacy invasion.

Esme took her plate away when it was empty, before Talae's manners could protest, so when Jacob and the leeches retired to the livingroom she of course followed. She was still slightly angry at Jacob for leaving her like that, but she'd rather be fuming at his side than all alone in strange territory, so she kept close to him.

The young alpha threw himself on a three-person couch, pratically taking up the whole thing, and then some. Emmett sat down Renesmee and he and Bella started playing with her on the floor. Most of the other vampires stood around, coupled.

"So Talae, Jacob tells me that you're even faster than Leah in you're wolf form?", Dr. Cullen stated, looking very interested.

She smiled lightly, "Yes apparently". She was a _little_ proud.

"If you don't mind, we would like to, for lack of a better word, test you, and I know, that you already proved yourself to Sam and Jacob", he held up his hands as Talae was about to object, "but there is still a lot we don't know about you shapeshifters, we didn't even know that there were anymore in America. I'd like to run some medical tests, like we did with the others in the pack, see if you share the same genetic makeup and such. I assure you there will be no harm done", he finished with a smile, so reassuring that all she could do was bow her head in defeat and mutter a quiet 'yes'.

His smile got wider, "Thank you. Now, if you'd follow me please, I'd like to take some blood samples. This way". He lead her up a flight of stairs and into an office.

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><p><strong>There ya go! R&amp;R please!<strong>


	8. Chapter 7

**Update for ya! Thanks for your lovely reviews, much appreciated! Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 7<p>

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><p>Once they were done with the needlework, which had taken more time than neccessary due to Talaes fear of needles, they talked a bit about her upbringing, tribe and family stuff, and her skills and abilities when she was both in human and wolf form.<p>

When Dr. Cullen had gotten all the information he needed they made smalltalk as he lead her outside to their "backyard". Rosalie and Bella had gone hunting with Renesmee, Alice and Esme was talking quietly together, while Emmett and Jacob, Jasper and Edward were play-fighting.

Sensing Talae's presence Jacob looked up at her with a wide smile, which she returned, but with his attention momentarily redirected, Emmett seized the oppurtunity he needed to take him down. Jacob hit the ground hard as the giant of a man slammed into his mid-section, effectively knocking all the air out of his lungs. As he laid on his side clutching his stomach, trying to gasp in a few breaths, Emmett triumphantly put his foot on his shoulder and flexed his thick biceps with a big smug grin on his face.

"Haha-HAH! Suck on it bitch! Who's the man!", he screamed laughing as Jacob still laid groaning on the ground.

"Shut your face and help me up dipshit", Jacob croaked, finally getting a hand from the still grinning Emmett, "I think you broke a rib... or ten". He limped over to where Talae and the good doctor was currently still laughing at him, "Doc please, just check 'em", he whimpered.

Carlisle sighed with a smile and went to press and poke his ribs, drawing out painfull groans and ouch'es from the hurt wolf, "Yes, he did break two, let me just-", he pressed hard on a bruising area on Jacobs torso and a few loud cracks were heard, with a yell of pain, "there, all set, they'll be healed in a few minutes, tops".

"Thanks Doc", he weezes, throwing his arm around Talaes shoulder to support himself, making her silently gulp nervously as his bare, sculpted chest went flux against her side, a rosy tint creeping into her cheeks.

He groaned in pain as she shifted her feet to support his weight, and she instinctively brought her arm around his waist to help steady him.

"You big baby", she smirked, secrectly loving the feel of his soft, russet skin under her fingertips. He responded rather surprising to the comment as he craned his neck and harshly bit her exposed shoulder, "OW!". He smirked at her, something devilish in her eyes as he stuck out his tongue as caressed the sore spot with it, holding her gaze. She bit her lower lip, fighting back a moan.

"Maybe it's a wolf thing...", Alice whispered to Edward, giggling like a schoolgirl.

"Ahem", Jasper cleared his throat, probably felt every little tingle of their heated emotions, "I'm sure we'd all _love_ to see this little animalistic play to the end, but really, I think the current objective won't allow such interferences", he smirked, clasping his hands together, "now, I for one would love to see this new she-wolf in action".

Talae blushed furiously as the leeches chuckled at them, begrudgingly shoving Jacob away from her a bit harder than intented. He huffed and lowered himself to the ground, sitting this one out.

"Right, well, Talae would you like to phase now?" Carlisle asked, not really asking, and she nodded and went around the corner of the house, getting just a bit of privacy as she took off her clothes and neatly folded them before shifting swiftly and trotting back out to the others.

Edward, being the gentleman he was, read her mind and fetched her clothes, laying them on the porch so they wouldn't get dirty. She thanked him in her mind.

She struded up to Carlisle and Esme, "My my, aren't you a sight for sore eyes", Esme smiled, reaching up to pat the top of the white wolf's head. She barked out a thank you, licking the matriarchs hand.

"Yes, your coat is rather exquisite, the shaggy hair shaped around your particular build is much more fitting than it would be on the wolves here. Interesting...", he mused, seemingly going over multiple theories in his head.

"You are so gorgeous Tee", Alice grinned, picking up on her nickname and reached up to stroke the thick fur on her neck.

If wolves could blush she'd be a great big, fluffy tomato by now. Compliments was not something she was used to and getting to many over just being herself over a couple of weeks was becoming a little overwhelming. Not that she minded that much, it was nice to be appriciated for once.

"Since Alice here is our fastest vampire, would you mind going on a quick run with her?", Carlisle asked after being silent for a few minutes.

_Sure_, she thought, _might as well get this pesky testin' business over with._

Edward gave a lopsided grin, "She agrees". She shot him a one-eyed glare, but followed Alice to the forest-line as the small vampire set off into a sprint.

She swiftly quickened her pace, coming up beside the psychic leech as they whirled throught the woods, leaving barely visible prints in the freshly fallen snow. Alice bolded from branch to branch above the forestfloor as Talae winded past and around the countless pinetrees, keeping a firm eye on Alice's tiny form.

She seemed to almost soar like a hummingbird up there, and when she quickened the pace several times, the ivory blur below her nimbly followed her lead, always cathing up to her in mere micro seconds.

"This is my top speed Tee, show me what you got", Alice muttered, her voice windswept, but reached Talaes keen ears nonetheless.

She gave a happy whine, and proceeded to move her legs even faster, even becoming a white blur to the small vampires unnaturally sharp eyes.

"Woah", Alice uttered as the young wolf sped past her at almost double her pace, effectively speeding out of her vision. She tried straining her short, slender legs further, but had no chance of catching up with the milky lightning.

"Okay okay, I get it, you're wicked fast", she laughed out loud, hoping she'd reach Talaes far-away ears.

Seconds later the she-wolf appeared in her line of vision again, barking happily with her long tongue hanging out of her mouth.

"Let's go back, I'm sure that little display was more than satisfying", Alice chirped, doing an elegant 180 and then sprinted back to the house, side by side with her newest friend.

They came to a slowish trot when they entered the clearing behind the house and came up to the large group waiting for them.

"She's fast", Edward smirked.

"Real fast", Alice's grinned, patting Talae on her fluffy shoulder. The wolf nudged her hand with a soft muzzle, feeling the vampires marble cold skin on her already cold, wet nose. Alices giggled delighted and continued to stroke her shoulder.

"She outran Alice by at almost double speed", Edward explained to Carlisle, who nodded and continued to look thoughtful.

She dared look over at her Alpha, pleased when he held a proud look and smiled at her, making her insides flutter and the ache subdue slightly.

"Ache?", Edward questioned and everyone gave him a curious look. Talae's eyes went wide with panic, this was not something she'd intended to share with anyone before she could figure out more about it. All she knew was that it was tied to Jacob, that it happened when they first met and that it was probably tied to her wolf-genes.

She stopped thinking abruptly, seeing the confused, yet knowing stare Edward was giving her.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid! Rainbows, puppies, sunshine, honey, beer, energy, study, dance, kitten kalender, kitten kalender, kitten kalender_, she tried to randomize her thoughts, playing associating games with the words.

Edward looked at her funny, "Please stop, you're making my head spin". But when she just glared at him an continued her random thoughts-technique, he waved his hand to the other curious onlookers, dismissing his small outburst.

She mentally sighed in relief and decided to focus on images then, instead of words for the time being, memorizing Dr. Cullens features when he next spoke.

"Right. Well, I'd like to test your fighting skills next, am I right to assume you've fought vampires before?", he asked and she gave a quick nod, "Good. Well, seeing as Edward and Alice have gifts that would compromise the idea I had for this, I'd like for you and Esme to have a short sparing match, just to assess your, uhm, lets call it power level".

Esme stepped forward with a smile and the other cleared, so they had a large space to fight in.

Seeing Talae's apprehension and doubt, the mother-vampire laid a gentle hand on the top of her head, "Don't worry, I wont hurt you", then she leaned in to whisper in her ear, "but don't hold back".

With new determination at the sincerity of Esme's word, Talae nodded and they stepped away from each other, getting into each their own fighting stances.

They stared at one another for a while, plotting best courses of action, trying to scope out weaknesses. Talae's ear jerked once before Esme launched at her, an unreadable serene look in her eyes. The wolf saw her coming a mile away and dodged expertly with her superior speed, and playfully swiping the vampires back with her tail as she went past her. However, she didn't let her gaurd down, and a good thing too, as in the next second Esme turned and threw several punches her way.

She danced and dodged all the fists and kicks mother-leech threw at her, and looking at her elegantly prance around the attacks thrown at her, Jacob thought she was poetry in motion. She was wrapped up in the fight, concentrating on every little move her attackers body made, listening to the small noises and whistling of the air as Esmes stone-cold hands hit air, time and time again, and a small smile formed on the alphas lips. He felt a sense of pride, having such a beautiful and talented asset in his pack. He hadn't been fond of Dr. Fangs idea to test her like this, like the packs had, but he could see it was good to see her skills in context to the vampires they would be fighting eventually; strays appeared now and then, and even the Volturi was never out of the question.

Not a single punch had hit its target, Talae's speed was a great advantage in battle. It was almost fun, even though she never took her eyes of Esme, sensing the devilishly clever mind that lingered under her soft smiles.

They'd been at it for a good ten minutes before she decided to end this fight, not wanting to toy with her combatant anymore and get on with her day. After dodging a kick to the face she did a quick 1-2 combo of twirls and jumps, cathing Esme a little off-guard at the sudden offense, and planted her big front paws forcefully on the vampires back, possitively tipping her over to land face first on the ground. Esme managed to brace her falling body on her forearms and swiftly rolled over, only to have the same paws that shoved her down imbeded in her shoulders, nailing her to the ground. As she felt the snow soak through her clothes, she was glad she'd worn a old set of clothes.

"Okay okay, you win", she smiled up at the now panting wolf, who bared her teeth in a grin and barked as she stepped away from the matriarch.

"Exellent!", Carlisle exclaimed with a big smile, clasping his hands, "Very good Talae". She barked and sat her ass down in the snow, eager now to get on with the whole sha-bang.

"She wants to move on", Edward smirked, crossing his arms. She barked at his words, looking curiously at Carlisle.

"Well then, lets get on with it then. Now let me see...", the doctor mused for another second.

"Aw Carlisle come on, let me take her on!", Emmett shouted with a big grin, cracking his knuckles and snapping the joints in his muscled neck. Talae gulped, seriously hoping he was joking.

"Don't you think you're most likely to crush her?", Carlisle asked amused, "Maybe Jasper would be a better choice".

"You saw how she danced around Esme, who, no offence mom, was utterly useless against her speed, and if you won't let Alice, the fastest as you said yourself, fight her, then why not me?", he logically deducted, raising a challenging eyebrow at the good doctor.

"Oh alright, only if Talae agrees", he turned to the wide-eyed wolf.

_You can't be serious_, she thought, looking over Emmetts massively muscled, bulky body. She gulped again.

"What, are you afraid I'll hurt ya pretty face?", he teased, seeing her hesitation, "I won't hurt ya", he said, mimicking Esmes words of comfort, "or are you too chicken?".

She knew she shouldn't let his words get to her, but eager to prove herself she nodded to Carlisle and circled Emmett as he stepped into the cleared patch of snow.

"Wait! Doc, you can't be serious, he'll kill her!", Jacob protested, knowing very well the freighttrain that was Emmett's physical strength, "She's not that good!". So far most of his and Emmetts playfights had been draws with a few wins on both sides, but he'd seen the bear of a man take down practically every opponent he'd ever faced; wolves included.

Not caring much for Jacobs protectiveness, she sent a growl his way,_ I can take care of myself, thank you._

"She's telling you to butt out", Edward informed him.

"The hell she is, Tee get your ass-", his alpha command was cut short as Emmett decided not to let this fight get away from him and launched himself at her. She dodged him barely, a little shocked by his speed and ferosity. She pranced a few steps away from him, trying to predict his next moves.

"Dammit!", Jacob shouted, but held his ground.

They fought for a while, Talae dodghing a couple of close calls; a lot more than she would have liked. Emmett was fast for his size, and clever. He tried several tricks on her and she barely escaped. He forced her to keep a defensive approach, she simply didn't have time to think of any counter-attacks or attacks of her own, busy avoiding his huge fists as they whistled past her face and body.

She growled in frustration; he was beginning to tire her out. She was determined to prove herself, even if she didn't win this fight. As the bulky leech sent another punch her way, she instead of dodging it this time, stepped back and caught his closed hand between her sharp teeth, growling as he tried to pull it out and she bit down harder. In the blink of an eye she'd moved her teeth up and around his wrist, flinging him across the clearing. He landed heavily, but still standing, and snarled with a smirk on his face as he went for her again.

She snarled back and dashed around him when he got too close, snapping at his calfs, shredding his jeans. Suddenly he turned and bodyslammed her to the ground; she had misinterpreted his footwork and had once again misjudged his speed. She gasped and whined loudly when his heavy form smashed her to the ground, his knees coming up to hit her thigh, his shoulder effectively crushing her torso and front legs. She heard and felt several cracks, tears and rips, followed by burning, gnawing and stinging pain all over her body.

Emmett pinned her to the ground, sporting a triumphant grin until he recognized the severety of her whines.

"Shit, are you okay?", he sounded slightly worried now, quickly rolling off her writhing form to hover over her.

She didn't really hear him, the pain was kind of overwhelming her. Sure, she'd broken a bone before, gashed her eyebrow in a fight, she knew it came with risks and dangers being what she was. But this, this was something not entirely new, but it certainly crippled her nonetheless. Usually, she was too fast for vampires to even touch her, let alone bring a punch home, so she'd gotten rid of those she encountered pretty fast, her superior speed unmatched. Emmett had gotten the better of her, he was the brutal-force counterpart to her lightning-fast speed and agility.

She felt a metallic taste in her mouth and realised she had a fat-lip. That was one injury accounted for.

Soon her vision swarm with concerned faces, she quickly recognised Jacob's sun-licked face and raven hair, and she heard the slight panic in his voice when he asked if she was okay.

"Lay still Talae, I'll set your bones straight so you can heal. This _will_ hurt", she heard Dr. Cullen say, and weakly nodded in response, gritting her teeth as she felt cold hands prod the skin under her fur. She hadn't phased back out of sheer will, refusing these almost strangers to see parts of her weakness no one, but now Leah, knew, and swore in her mind she'd cut off Edwards glass-balls if he so much as hinted it to anyone. She knew he heard her, but right now she focused on breathing; even though that hurt too.

Her ribs cracked painfully back in place when the doctor pressed them hard enough and she yelped and instinctively tried to swipe at him with her paw, but yelped even louder when her front leg moved an inch, sending sharp pain down her elbow, and up into her body. Something in the joint of her shoulder was wrong.

She heard Edward direct Carlisle around her broken body as he read where she hurt in her mind. In the end she was reduced to a white, blood-spotted heap on the ground, her yelping and barking lowered to heartwrenching whines.

A little piece of Jacob broke everytime she cried out, and if he didn't think it would hurt instead of help, he'd be right beside her, holding her paw, soothing the soft tuzzles on her head and ears, even phase and lick her wounds clean and whimper with her.

Something was wrong; Emmett hadn't hit her that hard, had barely gained momentum before slamming her to the floor. She shouldn't have any more than a bruised rib and a sore shoulder, but her she was, writhing in pain from more injuries than even he had sustained when he'd fought a newborn army of leeches.

"There", Carlisle finally said, wiping his now bloody hands on his pants. Good thing wolf-blood smelled so unappitizing, "Give her a few minutes before we move her inside".

As soon as the Doc stepped away from her, Jacob was by her side, not caring what it looked like. She half-opened one eye and gave a small whine as she looked at him, lolling her tongue out of her mouth as she panted. He recognized her wolfish smile, pained though it was, and smiled back, stroking her jaw, one part of her that wasn't harmed.

"You're going to be just fine Tee, just lay still for a few more moments", he whispered.

The pain was starting to receed as her bones healed right, she could breath easy again. _Thank god for wolf genes_, she thought, slightly more appreciative about her heritage. She was also happy that Jacob was there, already having forgiven him for abandoning her earlier. The soft strokes over her head were a good distraction from the agony, as it felt rather good.

A few minutes passed and Carlisle checked her injuries again, giving the 'ok' for them to get her inside.

"Your'll have to phase back now Talae", Carlisle said, stepping away from her. She gave him a very skeptical look and before Edward had the chance to say what was on her mind, Esme stepped up, "We'll dress her", she said quickly, nodded her head in the direction her clothes were to Alice, who sprinted for them immediatly.

Great! More people knowing my weaknesses! Now she really didn't want to phase back.

The two vamps got down on their knees to wait for her to phase back. When she didn't, they both gave her a questioning look. She jerked her head, _I'm sure as hell not gonna phase infront of three strange leeches and a hungry hungry wolf, puh-lease_.

Edward cleared his throat and gestured for the three men beside him to turn around. Emmett looked almost dissapointed, Jacob glared at Edward while Carlisle just turned, as did the others. Eventually.

She eyed their turned backs a moment more before she smoothly shifted to human form. She curled into a little ball the moment the transformation was complete, covering her chest and stomach with her arms. Maybe she could prevent them from seeing anything...

She sat up at Esmes request, still covering herself, wincing slightly at the not fully healed traumas all over her body, and was handed her t-shirt. She begged with her eyes for Esme and Alice to turn around, they complied in the end. She slipped the fabric over her head, groaning as her shoulder panged, but still got the shirt on with much difficulty. Having her upper body covered she allowed the two women to dress her further, helping her up standing to not get her jeans wet.

When she was fully dressed again, although barefooted, she signaled the others it was okay to turn back around, Alice acting as her support beam. Before anyone could move to help her, Jacob scooped her into his arms, very slowly and very carefully. It didn't hurt too much, actually felt nice craddled in his arms she thought, and he tried to walk at a steady, leisurely pace to not bump any sore places.

The Cullens followed close behind as he took her through the house, and directed him to the livingroom couch. When he tried to lay her on it, she clung to him, not wanting to let go of him and his delicious warmth.

"Let go Tee", he whispered. She whimpered, but let him put her down on the sofa anyway. Her bones groaned, she uncurled herself and laid straight on the couch, trying to find a comfortable position for her aching shoulder.

"Thank you", she whispered, first looking a long moment at Jacob, but then turned her gaze to the rest of the people around her, "I've never been hurt like this before... and here you are, almost total strangers, helping...".

"Nonsense dear, we might have just met today, but you're already becoming a part of this family, whether you like it or not", Esme shushed her, but gave Jacob a piercingly knowing look. Like she knew something he didn't; yet.

Talae smiled up at her, then whinced as she felt her shoulder right itself, the tendons inside slowly fusing together again.

Carlisle noticed her slightly pained expression, "You're going to be all healed up in about half an hour, so I suggest you lie still during that timeframe".

"Sure Doc, I'll be here if ya need me...", her eyes drifted closed, the fatigue finally catching up with her. Within seconds she was fast asleep, snoring softly with her mouth wide open. Jacob smiled down at her sleeping form. He noticed the lingering stares from the others on him, Alice could hardly contain her smile, and Esme was shaking her head at him.

"What?", he asked, shifting his eyes nervously to Jasper and Emmett for help. Jasper just held back a laugh and looked away from him while Emmett let his amusement roar through the room, before he was harshly quieted by Esme.

Jacob grumbled under his breath, and sat on the small space left free on the couch beside Talae's feet, fully prepared to wait there until she awoke again.

"Jacob, I think we need to talk about this...", Carlisle began, sitting with Esme on the opposing sofa.

He sighed, perfectly aware that they had to; something was indubitably wrong. "Yeah, I know. I mean yeah, Emmett is like a wreckingball at times, but even that hit shouldn't have hurt her that much, right?". Surprisingly enough, he didn't hold a grudge against the big guy, knowing he wouldn't hurt her on purpose. And even thought things between him and Bella were still a little awkward, he'd come to think of the Cullen clan as a second family. Even Blondie was growing on him. When she kept her mouth shut.

"Yes, I thought so too", Carlisle mused, "I'll have to have her bloodwork done soon as possible, maybe take a few ex-ray scans as well".

"But, she's going to be okay, right Doc?", he wanted to be comletely sure.

"Yes, she seems to have the same healing-ability the other wolves have", Carlisle smiled, giving him some sense of reassurence. He nodded gratefully and leaned back against the couch.

Jasper and Emmett settled infront of the TV and got the PS3 going, playing on lowest volume possible, Esme and Alice went to the kitchen to prepare some afternoon snacks as Bella and Rosalie came back from hunting with Renesmee.

"Is she sleeping? Really?", Rosalie asked upon seeing the out-cold she-wolf on the couch, a highly displeased look on her face.

"Yeah, she is", Jacob answered, comming up short on witty comebacks for the time being.

Carlisle explained to them about the training session, about her speed and the injuries she sustained. Bella smacked Emmett in the back of his head when she heard about their collision, scolding him that he should know better. He 'yeah-yeah'ed her, rubbed his slightly sore head and kept playing the game he started with Jasper, who was possitively snickering evilly at him.

A soft groan escaped her as her mind was pulled back into the world of the living (and not so living), and she blinked furiously to get her eyes to re-focus. Her body was a bit stiff with a sore shoulder, but she felt no pain.

She stretched, popping a few joints, almost pushing Jacob off the couch, and slowly say up, rubbing her eyes. Esme and Alice came back from the kitchen with crackers, chips, sandwiches and soda, putting it on the coffee table, "How are you feeling dear?", mother-vamp asked, sitting beside her husband on the other couch.

"I'm feeling a bit rigid, but other than that I'm peachy", she grinned, actually feeling much better and much more refreshed, "How long was I out?".

"Maybe 20 minutes", Jacob informed her as he reached out for a handful of chips.

"Huh. Feels like I slept a whole day", she looked critical for a second, but let it go, getting a can of coke from the table.

"The power of power-napping Tee", Alice chirped, grinning cheerfully, "I'm glad you're okay".

"Yeah, me too. That is not something I want to repeat anytime soon, not ever again if I can help it", she smiled sheepishly and took a sip of soda.

"Sorry Tee", Emmett said, looking back at her with a very sincere smile.

"Oh forget it, just, don't do it again, okay big guy?", she grinned as he nodded with a smirk and turned back to the TV.

"Talae, if it's not too much trouble I'd like to take you for some ex-rays down at the hospital monday?", Carlisle asked, looking hopeful, "Maybe it'll give us a clue as too why Emmett's attack damaged you so extensively".

She hesitated at his statement, "... what do you mean 'damaged me so extensively?". What, was she that weak?

"Tee, I've seen Leah take a hit by Em here a lot harder than what you got, and she didn't get a scratch. I think we have to find out more about this, about you", Jacob laid a hand on her knee to calm her, but her mind was already overthinking, and soon, overloading.

Was she too weak? Why'd did the attack hurt her much more than the others? Was she cursed or something? Did she really have that bad luck? Was it perhaps bad karma? Were they going to experiment on her to find out what made her tick? What did make her tick? Was she even ticking? Was she going to lose the best, but briefest family she'd ever know? Did they even feel the same way about her?

Close to a thousand thoughts ran through her mind in the spand of a dusin seconds, some were downright ridiculous and didn't make sense, but they continued to flood the inside of her skull nonetheless.

"Arh, please stop", Edward moaned, bringing a hand up to his head, feeling a little dizzy at her freighttrain of thoughts. He hadn't even gotten half of the words, just spun right on through one ear and out the other, making him feel slightly ill.

She snapped her head up, catching his eye briefly. She didn't get what he meant, and the uncertainty of the situation just made more disturbing and incoherent, forcing the mind-reading leech to sit down as not to fall down.

"Edward, are you okay?", Bella asked, concerned, and kneeled by his side, looking into his face questionably.

"I'm... she's thinking too fast", he said, his eye twitching as his words made the girl more confused, speeding up her thought process even more. Many questions were repeated, but many more new, highly outlandish and deranged idea's sprouted, so fast he only caught words here and there; it was like a swarm of bees, many different voices at once, coursing round and round in his head, making his ears ring. "Jacob, she thinks she's going to be an outcast again", he said, now focusing his efforts on trying to block out her mind.

Jacob didn't know what he meant at first, but it quickly dawned on him. She had told them that she'd been pretty much alone her whole life, never fitting in, at one point trying to end her own existence. At some completely warped level, she must have taking his and Carlisle's words as rejections of her abilities, that she wasn't strong enough to be part of their family, that they'd reject her after they'd used her. It was entirely irrational, demented and not to mention insane, but he didn't know how her mind worked, should've thought of it not being all rainbows and puppy-dogs. It was looking alot more like razor-clouds and rabid hounds at the moment.

"Tee, look at me. It's just a couple of tests, were not going to throw you out", he tried soothing her, scooting closer and putting an arm around her. She looked up at him with faraway eyes. If Edward hadn't been there they would've never known what had gone through her head, and she'd probably just have ended up excusing herself to the bathroom, maybe climb out the window and run away...

"Just tests?", she asked, her voice as steady as ever, not betraying the inner unbalance. Was this like a daily occurance?

"Yeah, just tests...", he comfirmed, giving her a lopsided smile. He was relieved when she smiled back and Edward could sit up straight again.

The other vampires were looking at her wierd, if not concerned, but they said nothing, happy the whole affair was so quickly over. It had turned out to be one wierd-ass day.

"Monday?", she turned to Dr. Cullen.

"Uh, yes, you could come by after school maybe?", he answered a little off guard, but he recovered, "I'll inform your parents on the day, so they won't be concerned if they see you there".

She smiled gratefully at him, then noticed the game Emmett and Jasper had paused, to see what all the fuss was about, "Oh! I love that game! Can I play with you guys?".

They gave her a pair of disbelieving looks, if was like she had not noticed the very near nervous breakdown, that she'd gone through a minute ago.

"Uh, sure", Emmett breathed, staring at her as she grinned at sat between them on the floor.

"Alright! You're going to have your asses kicked!", she laughed, grasping a third controller and joining their game. Thinking it would be best if they played along, the guys shrugged their shoulders and turned their attention to the TV.

Both Edward and Jacob was still looking at her back with somewhat incredulous stares. "Tee, you alright?", Jacob asked carefully.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?", she said, turning her head to grin at him briefly.

"No matter", he muttered, taking more chips off the table and stuffing them in his mouth.

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><p><strong>If you don't review and tell me what you think, I'll be alot slower at updating. Come on, if half the people who fav'd threw in a 3 letter review too, I'd have like... 2 dusin! Come on people!<strong>


	9. Chapter 8

**Thank to love-loves-love, armywife4life and NejisDarkNymph for reviewing the last chapter, you guys really moved me to write more! Thank you.**

**Anyways, enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 8<p>

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><p>After the rather eventful visit at the Cullen's, Jacob drove Talae home. It was around 6 in the evening and her parents were home. But she had nothing else planned for the day, so when they pulled up to the curb outside of her house, she of course invited him inside, for a drink, or a game of scrabble... or maybe a messy, hot makeout session?<p>

She shook her head, trying to rid it of the dirty thoughts that circulated there, as she stepped through the front door, Jacob in tow.

"Mom, dad, I'm home!", she shouted, kicking off her shoes.

"Hi sweetie, there's fresh lemonade in the fridge if you want some", her mom shouted from the livingroom.

"'Kay", she said standing in the archway between the hallway and lounge.

"Did you have a good time?", her dad asked, not looking up from his current task; her mom and him were painting the floorpanels in the room redwine-red.

"Yeah, it was cool", she didn't think it'd be a good idea to inform them of her painful sparring-match with Emmett and the following results. Besides, she was all healed up now, no need to make them worry more than they did.

"Oh I'm glad", her mom answered, finally looking up, blowing stray hair away from her face. Her eyes instantly locked on the tall, handsome boy standing slightly behind her daughter. She nudged her husband, making him jerk his head up.

"Hello Jacob, nice to see you again", his father smiled after recovering from the initial shock of Jacob's tall form standing in his livingroom, and wiped his hands on his already paint-smudged pants.

"You too Mr. Littlecreek, Mrs. Littlecreek", Jacob smiled politely and nodded at her parents respectfully, coming forward to shake her dad's hand when extended.

"Please, it's Will", he told him, shaking his head at the tall boy. Damn, he towered over him by a good half-foot.

"Will, then", Jacob's smile stayed on as stepping back besides Talae.

"And it's Lily honey", her mom grinned, adjusting the scarf she'd tied around her head for the time being.

"Lily", Jacob grinned back, "I hope I'm not an inconvenience, Tee invited me inside and who am I to deny her?".

Talae blushed and turned her head away from him with a sheepish smile. Her dad eyed him for a second, but said nothing.

"Not at all dear, make yourself at home, please. Dinner'll be ready in an hour and a half, you can stay if you want", her mom smiled as her dad went back to painting.

"Sure, I'd love to, thank you", Jacob smiled back.

"Right, now that that's out of the way, we'll be in my room", Talae said clapping her hands together once, then lead Jacob down the hall to her room by the hand.

"Door stays open!", her dad shouted. She snorted, knowing he couldn't hold his tongue.

"Make yourself comfortable, I'm going to change out of these sweaty clothes", Talae waved her hand, gesturing to anywhere in the room before she rummaged through her drawers and walked into her bathroom, closing the door.

"Wauw, I didn't picture you as the messy type", Jacob laughed as he surveyed the room. _More like a bomb crater, hah!_

"Shut it wolfman", she shouted, laughing, from the bathroom. A minute later she walked out wearing a pair of cotton, red shorts and a white, skinny-fitting tank-top and still in her rainbow toe-socks.

"Whatever, at least it's not like there's dirty underwear lying around", she glared playfully at him as she threw her used clothes in the wicker hamper in the corner. She was right though, most of the stuff littering the floor and bed were once-used hoodies and sweaters, books, CD-stacks and more pillows, with the occational stuffed animal.

"Ah-hah. Then what's this?". He was sprawled on her bed, propped op by the many, many pillows against the metal headboard. He'd pulled out a lacy black and red bra from under one of said pillows, and held it up triumphantly by one finger.

She cringed, "Give it here!". She tried snagging it from him, but he held it further away from her, now laughing at her, very amused.

"Jacob, it's not funny! Give me it!", she stomped her foot childishly, before trying to grab it again. He continued to laugh at her as she squeeled in frustration. The sixth time she went for it, leaning over him and the bed to get to it, he tucked her down on the bed with him. She _umph'_ed as her stomach landed on his and he could feel the metal in her navel press against his abs. Her shirt got bunched at her waist, revealing the heaving tops of her breasts and giving him a clear view of the tattoo grazing her collarbone.

"Nice view", he smirked, finally letting her have the lacy bra back. She blushed and threw it towards the hamper, then shifted her body to sit on the edge of the bed beside him, instead of lying on top of him.

"Git", she murmured, pulling her shirt back in place. She stood up and pulled her iPod out, plugging it into her stereo. She put on a "chillax"-mix and danced her way back to the bed to Skindred's "_Destroy The Dancefloor"._

"Yeah, work it Tee!", Jacob laughed as she swayed her hips back and forth, tossing her hair to the beat. She grinned at him when she plopped back down on the bed beside him. He bent his leg, creating a make-shift chair-back for her to lean on. She relaxed her back against his leg, stretching her own two out in front of her.

"What a crazy day", she said, looking at her toes as she wiggled them. She sighed and leaned heavily against Jacob's leg.

"Crazy doesn't even cut it", he chuckled, putting a few strands of hair behind her ear, making her look at him and smile.

They talked for a while, about everything and anything, listening to music, occasionally bawling along one or two corus'. She was so comfortable with him, it seemed like they'd known each other for decades, talking and laughing together came easy, even with embarrasing and personal things; she learned that his mother died in a car crash when he was at a young age and he learned how she'd cope with being miserable at a young age.

Oh, yeah, and Jacob knowing her "secret" was another person added to that seemingly rapid growing list. But somehow it didn't bother her that he knew. He never seemed to blame her, judge her or anything; he just accepted it as a part of her, a part of her past. He'd ask questions and she would truthfully answer. No judging, no shunning, no hate. Just acceptance. He'd trace the scars on her wrist and forearms lightly with his fingertips as she spoke, sending shivers up her arm and down her spine.

The whole time though, Jacob was contemplating if this was the time that he should tell her about imprinting. He was almost certain that she'd never heard of it; maybe her mother's tribe didn't think it important at the time, maybe they forgot... Maybe they _didn't_ imprint. Hell, he wasn't even sure that he'd actually imprinted on her. When it happened, when their eyes met that day, he'd felt like they described it; gravity shifts, the universe moves to revolve around a single person, steel cables tie you to them forever. At first he was angry, confused even; he did so not want his free will taking away. He was still brooding about Bella at the time, with her being happy as a pig in a sty with her freaky family, he hadn't even _begun_ to think about starting a life with another person. And then, _pow_, there she was, like a lightning from a clear sky, locking her beautiful honey eyes with his, pulling him in. And then that ache had settled, that _pull_. And it was like nothing he'd ever felt or heard of. He assumed it was tied to her, to the imprint, but no one seemed to be able to answer his questions, even his dad had crinkled his eyebrows at him.

He'd been lucky, or rather, smooth enough to schedule her patrols at times when he wasn't, and, without ever, EVER admitting to it, he was glad he'd met Edward all those years ago; now he knew how to block his unwanted thoughts, or at least distract himself from thinking about sensitive subject. Unwanted thoughts like imprinting. But even he was astounded that he could keep this from his pack, with the amount of time he spent thinking about her.

_It would've been easier if she knew of imprinting, too,_ he thought with a heavy sigh.

"What's wrong?", she asked, bringing him out of his train of thoughts.

"What?".

"You sighed", she said with a smile, "like, somethings on your mind?".

"Actually-", he started, but Lily's shouting voice cut him off. _Not today,_ he thought with an inward sigh.

"Dinner's ready!".

Talae stood and took his hand, almost dragging him face first off the bed, "Come on".

He followed her out the room, down the hall and into the kitchen, happy that she hadn't let go of his hand. A very appetizing aroma of juicy chicken and stirfry noodles hit his nose as they rounded the corner, and he almost drooled.

"Oh god, that smells absolutely delicious Mrs- Lily", Jacob corrected himself, then took a good, long whiff of the food currently being set on the table.

"Well, you learn to cook grade A food when you have a growing pup in the house", Will laughed, ruffling his daughter's hair as he walked by.

"Gee, thanks dad", Talae scowled at him through her now messed up hair hanging in her face. She took off the elastic-band that held her hair in a ponytail and shook the treshes with her hands, before bringing the whole thing back into a high, messy bun instead.

"No problemo kiddo", he chuckled, sitting down at the dinner table, pouring himself a glass of water.

* * *

><p>"So listen, Sam and I were thinking about holding a camp-outtraining camp next weekend", Jacob started as he walked down the porch-steps in front of her house. Dinner had gone well and she could tell that her parents and her alpha got along, better than she could've hoped even. Her dad had been a little cautious at first, trying to figure out what the deal was between his daughter and her new "boss", but eventually he'd let it go and just enjoyed the evening.

"That sounds cool", she smiled, walking alongside him to his car, "Who'd be attending?".

"Well, a couple of the newer recruits, you, Sam and his beta, you know Jared, myself and Leah, then maybe Paul, Seth and Embry. Quil has babysitting", he answered, stepping onto the snow-ridden sidewalk.

"Okay, anything I should bring? Tent, goodies, earplugs?", she asked, moving forward to lean her back against the side of the car.

"Earplugs, really?", he chuckled, cocking his eyebrow at her.

"A weekend with a bunch of guys and one other girl? Please, if I want any sleep at all, I'll need earplugs to keep out ya'lls snoring", she snorted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Ouch, that hurt", he chuckled, clutching his hand over his heart for effect. He move to stand in front of her, invading that little invisible bubble that read "personal space" in big, fat, flashing letters. His warm breath fanned over her face in gentle waves, and did not help cool her reddened cheeks.

She bit her lower lip, her mind going blank on witty comments, her eyes kept darting back and forth between his darkened ones and his full lips, that she had learned were indeed very eatable.

"What are you doing tomorrow?", he asked in a deep, lowered voice, tugging a stray strand of raven hair behind her ear, their bodies inches from touching.

"Hanging.. with.. Sunday...", she breathed, now totally focused on his lips moving.

"Too bad", he smirked, stepping forward, effectively closing the space between their bodies, pressing her against the car.

"Mmhm", was all she could muster as a responce, overwhelmed by his husky and alluring scent. She rested her hands on his chest, arching her back, pressing her stomach flat against his. She loved being so close to Jacob, something deep inside her satisfied when they touched. She couldn't explain it, but she certainly wouldn't deny it.

His hand went up to tangle in her hair at the back of her skull as he lowered his head and ever so lightly touched his sultry mouth to hers. She forgot how to breath for a second as the intensity of the kiss suckerpunched her right in the gut. Her hands found way to the rim of his jeans, slipping her thumbs just past the denim fabric at his hips, pulling them flush against hers. She blushed as she felt just how much he really was enjoying their special moment, opening her mouth to him as she felt his tongue caress her lip. She moaned into his mouth as his fingers feathered over her ribcage.

And just like that, he pulled away from her, kissed the soft spot below her ear, making her bite her lip. He somehow manages to step away from her wanting body and open the car door, rolling the window down as he got into the drivers seat.

"Revenge is a bitch, huh?", he smirked, revved the car to life.

She stood, shocked, for a moment, touching the spot under her ear, she could still feel his hot lips on her skin.

"Oh, I'll get you someday, Black, just you wait and see", she grumbled, walking backwards away from the car, stopping just before the gravel-path leading up to the porch.

His smirk didn't fade at all as he blew a kiss her way before pulling away from the curb and disappearing down the road.

Oh great, now she was all hot and bothered, the chilly late-january air doing nothing to cool her flustering body down.

She stomped back to the house, sitting down on the porch-steps with a _thump_. She took several deep breaths, filling her lungs with cold night-air.

"What are you doing out here?", her dad asked as he popped his head out the front door, when she'd been sitting there for five minutes.

"Just chilling", she smiled back at him. He closed the door behind him, coming to sit besides her.

"Yeah, I can feel it", he chuckled, zipping up his winter-jacket, "so how you doin' cupcake?".

She sighed, feeling rather content despite everything, "I'm doing good".

"Yeah? Good. You know we moved here for you, we want you to be happy, you know that", he said, bringing an arm around her shoulder, pulling her to him.

"Yeah I know. And I'm sorry you had to. I'm sorry you had to leave everything behind, just because of my stupid "_gift_"", she air-quoted, rolling her eyes, before leaning into his side.

"Hey, don't give me that, you know we'd do anything to make you happy. Even if it meant packing up and going to the northpole we'd do it. We can adjust anywhere, but there's only so many places _you_ can truely be yourself", he squeezed her tight, feeling his own body heat up slowly. It was like leaning on an electrical-heater.

"Hah, the northpole", she snorted, "thank you dad. I really think I'm going to be happy here".

"If you are, we are hon'", he kissed the top of her head and stood up, pulling her up standing too, "Now come inside, your mom made brownies earlier and I think there's icecream in the freezer".

* * *

><p>Talae used all of Sunday hanging with, well, Sunday. Despite her spacy-nature she was really smart, and after they'd used all morning and noon finishing homework and getting ahead on assignments, they were free to spend the rest of the day as they pleased.<p>

"So, how come you're not going to school on the rez?", Sunday asked, standing on the front porch while Talae pulled on a light jacket, "Aren't you going to be cold?".

The native shrugged, zipping up the jacket, "I'm warm-blooded". They walked down the steps and the gravelpath and started down the sidewalk. They'd decided to walk the way into Forks, to a place called Mocha Motion, to get a cup of something and hang out.

"As for the school choice, it's just closer", she explained, stuffing her hands in her jeans-pockets.

"Hm, logical. Even though you get stared at a lot", she said, looking to the sky as if she had an epiphany.

Talae was lost for a second, "they still stare? God, I've been there 2-3 weeks, people need to get over themselves".

Sunday just threw her a grin in responce. They walked in silence for a while, listening to the nature around them before they turned down the main road leading into Forks.

"So what's going on with you and Caleb?", Talae asked as she kicked a smaller rock further ahead of her. She wasn't completely blind and had picked up on the vibes between her two new friends.

Sunday smiled and got a far away look in her eyes, before turning to her friend with the smile still plastered on her face, "I think I like him".

"Oh Sunny", she said and shook her head, smiling, "you think he likes you back? I'm assuming this isn't like-like, but _like_-like".

She giggled, "Yes, I believe it's _like_-like. I don't know if he likes me back, I think so, he asked me out this friday".

"That's great! Where are you going?", she clapped her hands, excited for her friend.

"Just dinner and bowling at Sunset", she smiled as she skipped a few steps.

"I'm so happy for you Sunny", Talae grinned, drawing the skipping girl in for a sideways hug.

"I am too", she giggled, giving the arms wrapped around her a tight squeeze before they fell back to their owner's side.

"How long have you _liked_-liked him?", her hands were in her pockets again and she kicked another rock along the sidewalk.

"Hmm, a few months, but we've been friends since sophomore year", Sunday told her, adjusting the tote-bag on her shoulder. The houses on either side of the road started to get closer together as they approached 'downtown' Forks.

"Cool. He's a real sweetheart, you'd be great together", she smiled, now kicking a chunk of iced-over snow, watching it crumble as it slid along the ground.

"Yeah...", she answered in that same far-away voice, before turning to her friend with a wicked grin that Talae had come to desipher as the sign for embarrasing conversation and trouble, "like you'd be great with Jacob Black". _Ah, there it is..._

"I knew you couldn't go the day without mentioning that", she sighed, rubbing her the side of her face with a hand.

"Well, excuse me, but it's Jacob _freaking_ Black we're talking about!", Sunday grinned, playfully shoving Talae with her shoulder; she let her, taking a quick step to the side to "steady herself". "You can't hold out on me forever. Just admit that you and Mr. Dark and Handsome have _something_ going on".

She sighed again, heavier this time, debating the issue. Maybe it'd be nice to have someone to talk to about it, some girl-advice. Plus, it would get the stubborn-as-a-mule girl off her back. "Fine, there is... _something_ going on...".

"With?". Now she was just being evil.

"With me and Jacob", Talae muttered, looking at the ground.

"I KNEW IT!", Sunday exclaimed with a laugh, "now tell me _everything_!".

On the rest of the way into Forks, Talae told Sunday about the times they'd kissed, Sunday trying to drag every little detail out of her, and about their "tender moments" that they'd have now and again; like when he'd taken her hand at the diner in Port Angeles. She tried to explain her complex feeling towards him without the wolf-aspect, and Sunday proved herself a good listener. She was only half-way through her explanations when they entered the coffeeshop and sat down at a table in the corner, sipping on hot chocolate.

She was slightly apprehensive about the thing between Jacob and her; she didn't know that much about him, they'd only known each other for a few weeks, and she was having trouble figuring out how the feelings she almost denied she had for him at all, had formed so quickly.

But it felt good talking about it to a friend, and Sunday swore she'd keep tight.

* * *

><p>Talae had patrol that evening, right after the sun had set. She walked Sunday home, which was on the other side of Forks, when the last pink and red rays of the sun colored the sky. They hugged and with Sunday inside she ran to the nearest tree-line. Listening for the slightest sounds, she undressed and tied it in a into a neat bundle; she'd have to make a quick run home after changing-clothes for later. She stuffed the soft package in her mouth and sprinted into the woods, phasing in mid-step.<p>

_"Hey Tee! You're a little early"_, Seth's voice filled her head, putting a smile on her face. She really liked Seth, he was always so vibrant and happy, you couldn't help it when he rubbed on you.

_"Yeah, I know. I'm just going to run home with my clothes_", she replied, already halfway to her house.

_"'Aight. Where have you been all day?_", he asked then, and she could feel his genuine curiosity.

"_I've been hanging with a friend from school, Sunday?"_.

_"Yeah, you've mentioned her. Did you have fun?"._

"_Yes sir, thank you for asking",_ she 'sent' him a smile, "_How are you doin' out here?_"

"_I'm okay, the snow is clumping on my paws though, it's annoying"_, he grumbled, "_but nothing unusual"._

_"Alright, I'll be there in a second"_, she phased back as she stepped out of the forest and into her own backyard, jumping awkwardly as she pulled on her jeans, not bothering with shoes.

"Hi mom, dad! I'm going out again, patrol, see you tomorrow!", she shouted as she walked in the backdoor and into her room, undressing and throwing on a pair of sweats and a loose tanktop, going commando.

"Be safe!", she heard her dad shout as she emerged from her room again, and out the backdoor as she yelled, "Always!".

The sun was clear of the horison now, only the echo of it lighting up the space it occupied just five minutes ago and darkness was creeping surely over the rest of the sky. Her 'night-vision' kicked in though, so she had no trouble seeing and jogged to the treeline to shed her clothes yet again. A medium sized zip-lock bag was tied to a branch up in a tree a couple of yards into the forest. She'd marked the tree with a little white x at the bottom; all the damn trees looked alike. She bent her knees and kicked off the ground, jumping the 25 or so feet to get to the branch. It was relatively sturdy and broad so she could sit on it and relax, dangling her feet over the edge as she put her clothes in the bag, and zip it before she let herself fall to the ground with a soft _thud_.

She dug her toes down through the snow and into the bark and mulch frozen beneath it, taking a deep, cooling breath. The forest was tranquill at the moment, only a few animals were awake and moving about. She jogged deeper into the darkness as the trees didn't allow much of the moonlight to shine down through the branches above.

She phased smoothly and said goodnight to Seth as his shift was over. She'd be joined by Leah soon enough; when Seth had gotten home to kick her off the couch.

It was only about 5 pm, her patrol ending around midnight, were Jacob would take over for her with Embry. She found it a bit odd, not ever having a shift adjecent with him, but she didn't question her alpha.

She started running the eastside of the territory, just going back and forth in lazy ovals over the entire area, paying close attention to any renegade scents in the air or inhumanly fast movements between the trees.

The darkness of the night had completely taken over when Leah announced her entry, the skies were clear with thousands of stars twinkling down upon them whenever they hit a clearing in the dense forests.

_"So how'd it go at the Cullen's?",_ Leah asked, even though she'd already been told the short story by Jacob.

Talae cringed, _"like an elephant loose on a porcelain-shop; catastrophic"_.

_"Aw, I heard it wasn't all bad",_ Leah snickered through the mind-bond.

_"Meh. Well, at least they're nice people"._

They kept talking about everyday stuff for a few hours. She was running over the furthest eastern part of Quileute territory now, getting ready to circle back north when that sickly sweet scent invaded the cool air around her. She stopped abruptly, spraying snow and dirt as her front paws dug into the ground. She sniffed the air thoroughly; it was faint, but it was definently there.

_"Leah, I got something, call the others, I'm heading after it"_, she relayed her discovery along with where she was.

_"No wait Tee, wait!"_, Leah was nervous for her friend now, knew she couldn't handle much damage, "_there could be more than one!"_.

Talae didn't like the fact that she was viewed upon as weak now, and growled her responce to Leah, "i_t's getting farther away, we'll loose it. Just get the others, fast!_". She was not weak, and she was going to prove it. She had already begun sprinting in the direction of the smell, weaving in and out through the trees, treading as lightly as possible.

An warning howl was heard miles away right after she had answered Leah, and she knew her fellow she-wolf was running as fast as she could to get to her.

She heard Seth yowled back in response not long after. She heard his eager questions in her mind, but focused on the task at hand as Leah explained the situation to him. Not long after Quil and Embry joined in the fun, further away though, and Leah filled them in too. Finally an ear-splitting howl ripped through the quiet night as their alpha finally made his presence known. He got quickly got the short version, and also tried to get Talae to slow down and wait for them.

_"No, I'm almost there"_, she argued as the scent got stronger, egging her hunting-instinct on.

_"Tee, I'm serious, I don't want you hurt!_", Jacob growled back, on the werge of barking out an alpha command. The others ignored the undertones in his words, and so did she, dismissing the curiosity she could feel the others sharing, pushing herself faster towards the target.

_"And I'm not going to be!_", she snapped back. She could see a clearing coming up ahead and by the density of 'eau de leech' in the air, it, or they, were probably just up ahead. She slowed her moments and snuck toward the clearing soundlessly.

_"Dammit Tee!_", Jacob snarled in her mind, but she tuned him out, trying to be as stealthily as she could.

It was dark, but she cleared a few trees and got a good look at the clearing. The moonlight shone brightly, enlightening the circle shaped patch of snowcovered ground in a silvery light. A group of dark figures stood slightly off the center, huddled together and murmuring among themselves. It seemed like they hadn't heard her so she snuck around, still in the shadows of the trees, staying close to the ground. For once her ivory coat came in handy and she crouched low in the snow, blending in with her environment.

_"Don't... move"_, Jacob growled in her mind, she could feel the pack was getting closer by the second.

The figures were clad in heavy, dark cloaks and had no heartbeats. There were six of them, and their faces laid in the darkness of their hoods, but she could see some sort of emblem in shining gold on their cloaks, just over their dead hearts.

_"They look frightingly familiar..._", Embry mused, seeing the image in her mind.

She focused on the emblem; the base form was a 'V' with a shield consisting of four parts in the middle. A pair of detailed leafs and vines encircled a red gem above the shield. The whole thing was very pretty.

_"That looks even more frightingly familiar..._", Quil echoed, taking a mental gulp.

She could feel the terror and anger form, first in the mind of Jacob, spreading to Leah, Seth, Quil and Embry and soon herself. The shared conscience overwhelmed her mind for a second and she accidently let out a low growl. The figures snapped their head up in her direction and hissed loudly. _Oops_.

_"Hold on Tee, we're there in ten_", Leah thought as she pushed herself in front of the others, "_seconds, that is"_.

"Ah, there you are", one of the figures stepped forward, dropping his hood. It was a man with long, blonde hair tied at the nape of his neck. He was beautiful as all vampires were, buthe disgusted Talae. He was unnatural and foreign, his scent burning up her nose as the wind gusted. She let out another low growl and stepped slowly away from the treeline, crouching, ready for any sign of hostile movement.

"A female", another said in a ringing voice, another man, though he was much slimer and shorter than the first. "Hmm, she is not afraid", he let out a short, menacing laugh. "Oh Victor, please let me skin her, I'd love a coat made of that pelt". She bared her teeth and snarled viciously at him.

A girl with an almost innocent face stepped slightly infront of the blonde, shielding him. "Now now Anna", he laughed, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Maybe when we are done with them, Ivan, maybe then", he smiled a sickening smile at the slim man, who huffed and crossed his arms.

The blonde lifted his head and took a long breath, "her pack is close".

Who _were_ these leeches? They shouldn't know about the pack at all and it unnerved her a great deal, much more than his curious, amused, crimson eyes.

The hair on the back of her neck and halfway down her spine stood and she bared her teeth at them as the blonde took off his leather gloves, signaling the other vampires to get ready. They took defensive fighting stances, but Talae knew they would be on her in a heartbeat if she made the wrong move.

She snarled again and took a warning step forward simultaneously with the pack coming to an abrupt halt behind her, breaking free from the shadows and into the light.

Jacob stepped up beside her and nudged her shoulder with his head, "_Get back Tee_". She fell into place behind him, besides Seth as Leah and Embry took their places at Jacobs flanks. The three of them growled at the vampires, Jacob sounding his threat the loudest and meanest.

"Ah, here we go, there's the alpha", the blonde man said, giving his gloves to the silent female beside him.

"_What about Sam's pack, Jake?_", Seth asked, sticking close to Talae's side.

_"Their on stand-by not two miles from here. If any of them escapes, or if they prove stronger-_", the guys snorted, "-_ they're ready to move in_".

_"Jacob, they know about us_", Talae finally got out, "_they know about the pack, they know what we are_". She was on the edge between anxiety and wrath, her instincts telling her to rip their godforsaken heads off now, but she knew that there was more than met the eye with these one; they emitted confidence and strength, not at all fazed with standing face to face with six horse-sized, deadly, angry wolves.

_"All the more reason to kill them quickly"_, Quil lookedat her and nodded. She nodded back, steeling her gaze on the offenders.

Silently they picked out their targets; Jacob would go for the blonde, as he seemed the leader of the group, Victor the vampires called him. Talae would take on the small female by his side, Anna, and Leah wanted the cocky, slim one; Ivan. Embry, Seth and Quil arguing about the rest.

"Now, how to-", the slim man, that laughed before, started, but was cut off as Jacob gave the kill-command and the whole pack moved into motion.

Talae focused on her target, aware of the battles around her, but eyes on the girl in front of her. She circled her, snarling, trying to force her into making the first move. When all she did was turn her head to follow the she-wolf's movement, Talae sprung at her from the side, snapping her powerful jaws at her neck. The vampire dodged barely and a look of surprise briefly crossed her features, but quickly returned to indifference.

They fought for a while, Talae untouchable, the vampire a few fingers poorer. Within a couple of minutes the fight was almost over as Quil, Leah and Seth had eliminated their targets, dragging the pieces into a big pile while still carefully watching the others fight. Quil was quickly at Embry's side and they made short work of a hissing, bald and bulky vampire.

_"Need help Tee?_", Leah asked, almost amused by the way her pack-member was dancing around the small leech.

_"Nah, I'm good_", she replied, dodging a kick to the head with ease. All vampires were gracefull, and this one was no different, but she was getting increasingly frustrated that her hits weren't hitting home and it showed in a little crinkle in her forehead.

_"Just finish her already"_, Embry laughed, tearing his freshly beheaded vampire limb from limb.

Leah and Seth went to help Jacob take down the leader-leech. He hissed when he saw the two wolves come up behind their alpha and snapped a foreign word at the female vampire. Her head snapped up at his command, taking her attention away from the battle at hand. Wrong move, bitch.

Talae darted forward and used the strength of her momentum to effectively rip off the vampires right arm from the shoulder-socket. The female shrieked in pain and bared her teeth at the she-wolf. But instead of attacking, she turned around and jumped infront of the blonde.

He ran a hand down her cheek and smirked at Jacob before he moved backwards and ran from the scene.

"_Leah, Quil, after him! I'll alert Sam!_", Jacob barked, now focusing on the leech-female, Anna, infront of him, the two wolves instantly obeying his order and dashing out of the clearing. She hissed venomously at him and made to attack. But the pack were stronger and outnumbered her, and easily tore off her head, followed by another arm and two slim legs.

_"Jacob, I can catch him!_", Talae pleaded, ready to speed through the forest on his word, ready to kill.

"_No! You are staying here. Phase and get a fire going, Seth stay here with her, Embry you're with me"_, it was not a suggestion, it was a down-right order. She whined pathetically as he sped out of the clearing after Leah and Quil, Embry hot on his heels.

"_Aw, cheer up Tee"_, Seth nudged her towards the thicket.

"_Ugh, now I have to get naked in front of you. Do we even have a light?_", she grumbled, defeated.

"_Duh",_ he shook his backleg, indicating to a pants-pocket.

_"Great... still nakedness"_, she eyed him. She adored Seth, he was becoming the hyper little brother she never had, but getting in her birthday-suit infront of him was not on her to-do-list.

"_Tee, you'd have to sooner or later, might as well be sooner that you get comfortable with it"_, he reasoned, then added, _"I'll swear I won't stare"._

She laughed at him, feeling a little cheered up, _"okay, okay, I'm doing it_". She phased swiftly, only slightly embarrassed at first, but she found that it felt near natural. And she wasn't ashamed of her body. Anymore.

She rummaged the pocket of his cut-offs, still tied to his leg, which didn't make it at all easier. She found the zippo-lighter and kicked the remains into a neat pile in the middle of the clearing. She found a few dry sticks of wood and lit the whole thing on fire.

"Do you see any stray pieces?", she asked Seth's sandy-colored wolf-form. He took a good look around the clearing, sniffing the air as well, then shook his head 'no'.

"Good", she went to stand beside him, leaning on his shoulder with hers, crossing her arms over his chest. For a moment she forgot she could just shift back, but Seth's fur was soft and he did a really good job at averting his stare. Her eyes were transfixed on the orange flames that licked at the torn leeches' pieces. She snorted at that thought, followed by a dry laugh. _Leeches Pieces, only flavored death, not chocolate_.

Seth gave her a questioning stare, she shortly explained about her idea and he gave the wolf-equivilant of a snort, comming out as grunts and huffing. She gave him a lopsided grin and rubbed his furry shoulder.

She sighed as the flames finally died down of their own accord and stepped away from Seth to take on her wolf-form again. If they hadn't caught that vampire by now, he'd escaped.

She quickly found out that that was, unfortunantly, the case. But not before Sam had ripped his arm off, from the elbow down, in passing. He'd been a fast motherfucker and she couldn't help but brood over the fact that she might have been the only one who could have caught him. He had reached the sea before he could've been dismembered further, and being creatures of flesh and blood and a beating heart and lungs that needed oxygen, they could not follow.

One of Sam's younger pack-members had been hurt trying to flank the vampire, but he'd live. Sam, Jared and Jacob had also taken hits, but they were almost all healed up already. It was a miracle nobody else got hurt.

_"Nah, we're are just that good"_, Seth reassured her, shoving her lightly as they trotted off in the direction of the rest of the pack.

She shoved him back and he ducked around a tree before appearing at her side again. The mood was pretty easy and relaxed, even though they'd just been majorly overrun in comparrison to how long they'd gone without any sign of vampires.

They met up with the others at a remote corner of First Beach, where a small fire was destroying the lead-leech's arm. Though the packs were pretty laid back about the whole thing, Jacob and Sam were furious.

"_They had the same crest that those old, Italian parasites had_", Sam thought, thinking back on the emblem on their cloaks.

_"Easy Sam, we can't be sure. We'll have to ask the Cullens_", Jacob reasoned, trying to keep his voice level.

"_I'll come with you, in the morning_", he agreed, though with some hesitation. Jacob nodded. Most of Sam's pack was sent home, though they'd switched to double shifts; two wolves would be patroling every corner of the territory now, making it four from each pack all the time, indefinitely. Sam offered to relieve one of Jacob's wolves since Sam's pack had more ressources and the younger alpha agreed, not wanting to exhaust anyone with all-nighters.

Quil and Embry volunteered for the rest of that night so everybody could go home and rest. On the way home Talae asked Leah what "the old, Italian parasites" refered to.

"_They are some ancient and allmighty coven out of Europe. They're supposed to be like the royal family of leeches"_, she answered with a roll of her eyes.

_"Hmm"_, Talae thought with a frown on her wolven features, "_you think they're going to be a problem?"_.

_"I don't know. We've had quarrells with them in the past, but that was mostly concerning the Cullens_", Leah 'shrugged'.

Talae gave her a questioning stare and she elaborated; how some of them had appeared when a vampire named Victoria had amassed an army of newborns and tried to avenge the death of her mate by killing Bella, and how they'd come to kill Renesmee when she was but a few months old, based on false accusations. They sounded like nasty fellas.

After that tale, the young she-wolf made her way home, bidding the remaining awake wolves a safe goodnight. She put on her clothes and padded barefooted to the backdoor, letting herself in and locking the door behind her. She drug her suddenly tired body to her room, only bothering to kick of her jeans before collapsing on the bed. Her skin chilled with cooling sweat trailing down her back and chest and the inside of her knees. Though she didn't feel cold she pulled up the sheet from the foot of her bed and tugged herself in.

She wasn't exactly satisfied with the events of that evening. She was angry, hurt even, that the pack considered her weaker, when she knew from experience that she could handle her own. She'd been at it longer than most of her pack members, if not all! She'd never been mortally injured, obviously, and she'd never sustained a wound that she couldn't deal with herself. She was more that capable of taking down a vampire on her own. She was not inferior.

But she couldn't question the alphas orders.. could she? She'd always been independent before and it suited her well. A tiny voice inside of her made suggestion that coming to Washington had been a mistake, and that she was better on her own, but she quickly silenced that little demon. She was generally happy here, and could easily see her future in this place.

Somehow she'd just have to convince the damn pack that they did not have to baby her. _With logic or violence, take your pick boys._

For now she was content at just closing her eyes and stretching her tired limbs one last lazy time before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Please review, it fuels my writing! Thank you to all who's fav'ed and who's reviewed so far. Just drop me a quick 'like it' if you, well, like it and don't feel like writing a novel about it. It's cool.<strong>


	10. Chapter 9

**Right, so it's been a while. Yeah, sorry about that, slight writers block. But here it is! Hope you enjoy!**

**And thanks to all who reviewd the last chapter, you know who you are!**

**And thanks to my new beta, yeah thats right! A.J Scarlet! So she can catch all my errors and what not, check out her story too! It awesomesauce.**

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><p>Chapter 9<p>

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><p><em>I have to tell her about the imprinting. Today. Tomorrow? No, today... next week maybe.. dammit!<em>

Jacob was pacing up and down his father's wheelchair ramp, waiting for his newest pack member to get her ass in gear and get over to his house. It was friday and he knew that school let out about an hour ago. She'd promised to come over when she'd finished packing her stuff. They were going out camping with the rest of the pups, only it was more like a shape-shifter boot-camp than camp-fires and marshmellows.

He half growled, half sighed and plopped down on the frontdoor steps, supporting his elbows on his knees and head in his hands. He stared down the road but saw nothing except random strangers, driving or walking past him. He rubbed his face before running his hands through his hair. He'd started to keep his hair fairly short. It hung slightly over his ears and almost in his eyes. It was more pratical short. No picking twigs and leaves out of his hair after runs or patrol, it was easier to maintain, to set, to wash. There was no need to keep it long anymore; he'd only let it grow long for Bella, after his first phase, but she was a long lost cause, and really, he didn't care about what she liked him in or as anymore.

Besides, he realized, he liked the way Talae would run her hands through it the few precious times they'd kissed, or the times she's played with it when they'd lay on the couch wathing TV, or whenever she'd find a silly excuse to brush it out of his face or behind his ear, even though it would never stay there, or...

He could go on, a silly smile was grazing his face as the memories tiptoed to the front of his mind and Bella's face was shoved all the way to the back, like a small, geeky kid at football try-outs. And he couldn't decide if it was the imprint talking or if he really just liked Talae for Talae.

Then he heard fast footsteps coming closer and looked down the street, smiling when he saw her lean form jogging down the side of the road, with a large, stuffed-looking duffel bag over one shoulder and a two-man tent and sleeping-bag over the other, looking totally at ease with the heavy burden. While jogging at a rather brisk pace.

Man, she was just... so _not_ Bella. Where she was physically strong and gracious, Bella had been physically weak and one hell of a clutz. Yalae carried herself with a sort of frail confidence, never backing down from any challenge. Bella would always shy away, and despised conflict, always tried to play the peace-maker. She was dark and gorgeous, Bella was pale and pretty. He could go on comparing the two, and would find that Talae's attributes attracted him more than Bella's. Sure, Bella was a fine person, and still one of his closest, if a little awkward, friends. But she was just that; a friend.

"Hey you", she breathed with a smile, coming to a stop in front of him.

He grinned up at her, "Hey back". She returned his grin, while dumping her things on the ground and took a seat on the steps next to him, leaning back on her elbows and extending her legs.

She was wearing a tight, black tanktop and dark jeans, a light sweatshirt hung off of her shoulders. He even liked her hard-rock-style, though it was similar to Bella's jeans-and-shirt style, it fit Talae a lot more. He looked at her outstretched body, up her slim legs, over her seducing hips, taking in her toned stomach and up her kissable clavicle, finally landing on her honey eyes. He blushed and coughed, looking away as he saw the smirk on her face and the teasing raised eyebrow. _Busted._

"Hey, wanna hear what Carlisle told me yesterday?", she asked him then, sitting up to nudge him in the side. They had had to move the appointment to Tuesday instead of Monday, due to the hectic schedule of Dr. Cullen, and the results came in yesterday, Thursday.

"Oh! Right, sure!", he answered, slightly stirred by the change of topic, but curious nonetheless. The sooner they found out about her abilities and such, the better.

She went on to explain to him the basics of what the good doctor had told her. They'd done bloodwork and tests; she was basically like them, _much_ like them really, high body temperature normal, chromosome count the same, ect. ect.. He'd taken a closer look at her genetics and tried to describe to her how she differed from the La Push wolves on that front; if they were like a grey wolf, then she was an arctic wolf. Which would make sense, considering her heritage.

The really interesting part about the whole thing though, was the exrays and what they revealed about her bonestructure. Her bones, unlike the theirs, were lightweight, borderlining on hollow. "Almost like a bird's", Carlisle had explained. Which was why they had broken so easily, and also the reason why she was so goddamn fast. Her muscular structure was also different; her musclemass was lean, fit, meant for endurance, agility and speed, wrapped tightly around her bones, where as her pack brothers', and sister's, were built for fighting and strength, having much denser, heavier and bulkier muscular tissue.

"Woah", was all Jacob could muster. It made sense, he'd give her that. And it made him wonder, if she was so much different from them, that they were just naturally 'different species', then, wouldn't there be more? Other species of Shapeshifters, that is.

"Yeah, it was kinda mindblowing, but I feel alot better knowing it's just who I am and not just because... you know, that I'm weak or something", she muttered, picking at her nails, as her eyes went downcast.

"Hey, you are not weak", he said firmly, tipping her chin up to look him in the eye, "you're different, so what? Different is good, not weak".

She smiled at that, "Thank you". She kissed him on the cheek, her lips lingeringon his skin for just a second too long.

"Now that's more like it", he grinned, throwing her arm around her shoulder and she leaned into him with a soft smile. Which reminded him of his earlier self-debate. _Shit, I really have to tell her,_ he told himself, but the ache in his gut hummed with satisfaction at her proximity and he reasoned that it might as well be later rather that sooner.

"So, shouldn't we get going?", she shifted her eyes towards his Rabbit parked on the side of the road, then back to him questioning.

"Yeah, we better", he said, finally standing, stretching as he did. He picked up her luggage, "I'll put these in the back for you".

"My my, what a gentleman", came the laughing voice of Billy Black as he rolled his chair out into the doorway, looking at Jacob with a teasing smile, "who are you and what have you done with my bratty teenage son?".

Talae snickered as the so-called bratty teen sent his dad a one-eyed glare, continueing to the car to pack her bags in with his.

"S'up Chief?", the she-wolf greeted with a grin, standing up and giving him a mock salute, which made him chuckle delighted.

"At ease soldier", he waved his hand dismissively, smiling at her, "Excited?".

"Kinda", she smiled back, "a little nervous".

"Understandably", Billy nodded, folding his hands on his lap, "You'll be fine, Jake'll take care of you". His eyes twinkled with mischief, making her wonder what he knew and she didn't, but she chose to let it go and gave him a lopsided smile instead.

"Come on Tee!", Jacob shouted out the open window, already seated in the driver's seat, turning the key to start the car.

"Bye Billy, see you later", she waved as she jogged to the passenger's seat, not borthering with a seatbelt.

"See ya dad!" Jacob yelled, not waiting for an answer as he sped down the road.

They drove down a few lengthy streets, just listening to the radio, keeping a comfortable conversational silence. Jacob turned down a dirtroad at one point, which turned into a narrowing trail. In the end they had to get out and walk a few miles to a remote spot in the dense forest. They talked about her wolven traits, theorizing how so and so fit together.

They smelled the campsite long before they got to it. Someone had already gotten a fire started and several tents were scattered among the trees and in the small clearing they'd chosen to use, though the small patch of free forestfloor was mostly clear, intended to be used as a possible sparing spot. Horse-sized wolves and bulky teens alike roamed the area surrounding them and soon a sand-colored wolf trotted up to met them.

"Hey Seth!", Talae grinned, patting him on the side of his furry neck. He barked and licked her hand in response, walking side by side with them as they neared the heart of their temporary colony.

Jacob walked off to talk with Sam, who was talking serious business with Jared. Seth ducked behind a tall, wide oak to phase back to his human-form, making conversation a reality.

"Hey Tee, how are ya?", he asked with a grin, comming back from behind the tree, buttoning up his cut-off jeans.

"I'm okay", she smiled, having dumped her baggage. Oh how she praised the inventer of pop-up tents as she pulled the sucker out of its bag and flipped it into the air, as said the instructions. It unfolded quite nicely and she went to jam the pegs into the ground with a rock.

"You cheater, that's so not in the spirit of camping", Seth snickered, earning a "are-you-serious"-look before kneeling in the dirt beside her and joining in on the peg-bashing,"So, you ready for a weekend with the guyzoes?".

She scoffed, "Hah, ready as I'll ever be". She whacked the last peg in the ground, then threw the rock away and brushed off her hands , "At least Leah is going to be here".

Seth chuckled, tossing his stone too, "Yeah, she's around here somewhere". He took a look around the forest while Talae unzipped the tent and threw her bag into it. "I'll let you unpack, come to the clearing when you're done, 'kay?", he said, walking backwards away from her until she smiled an 'okay' at him. He disappeared from view as she crawled on all four into the tent.

Situating herself in a corner, she sat down and crossed her legs indian style. The tent didn't quite help with muffling the sounds from outside, but she felt like she had a small moment of peace anyway. She took a deep breath, tucked her bangs behind her ears and tightened her ponytail before delving into her duffel bag for a pair of grey sweatpants and a sportbra/training top to change into. She discarded her sweatshirt, tank, jeans and shoes and socks, pulling on the freshly picked outfit. Done with that, she unrolled her sleeping-bag and somewhat organized her things before crawling back out from the tent-cabin.

Goosebumps rose on her arms in response to cold air on her skin and she dug her toes into the dirt and forest debris on the ground. The snow couldn't fall past the high, thick canopy of the many trees in these forests, and it hadn't snowed in days, leaving the clearing relatively snow-free.

She zipped the tent back up and started for the clearing, towards the smell of smoke and the serious voices of the two Alphas and their Betas. When Leah saw her entering the clearing on the far side from where they stood, she yelled something incoherent and the seriousness melted away from her face. Talae waved, starting to cross the cold patch of free space when Leah started sprinting towards her. She allowed herself to be tackled to the ground, letting out a laugh as her sister-wolf sat triumphantly on her back, holding her shoulders down.

"Hi Leah", she chuckled as she rolled over on her back, having Leah straddling her waist instead.

"Hello Tee", she smirked. A couple of the pups wolf-whisled at them, making Leah send a growl in their direction before finally getting off of her friend and giving her a hand, yanking her up standing.

"What kinda greeting was that?", Talae raised an eyebrow, and brushed the dirt off her butt and had Leah help her with her back.

"I am so glad you're here, the few times we've had to hold these things I've been _thee_ only female for miles", she shuddered, "do you know what that's like? 10 to 15 adolescent, wolven, aggressive and inappropriate guys in one spot? _Do you_!".

"Jeese, calm down woman, I'm here now okay?", she shook her head laughing, walking with Leah towards Jacob, Sam and Jared.

That earned her a punch on the shoulder. She took a look around the clearing and the immediate surrounding forest and realized she probably was the oldest of the pups, though one could hardly call her a pup as she had experience that was only exceeded by Sam, Jared and possibly Paul.

_Thank god _he's_ not here,_ she thought with a roll of her eyes. She didn't think she could handle Paul's teasing and hissy-fits that weekend.

"Hi guys", she greeted with a smile, coming to a stop before her 'elders'.

"Hey Tee", Jared smiled back politely.

"Hey Talae", Sam said in all his seriousness, only sparing her a half-smile and a curt nod, which she returned, "Alright, now that we're all here, let's get to it".

He turned from them and started towards the middle of the clearing, Jared in tow. Jacob smiled at her and jerked his head for her to follow. She fell into step behind him and Leah, and noticed that all the other pups were migrating towards the clearing too.

Sam waited to speak until he had everyone's attention. The forest was eerily quiet, only a few birds dared to sing at all as they waited for him to address the lot of them.

It was going to be a long weekend.

* * *

><p>"Oh god, I am <em>so<em> beat", Seth plopped down beside Talae on a log by one of the bonfires in the clearing. Leah snorted at her little brother's exclamation and continued to chew on her roasted wild goose leg.

But Talae had to agree with him, the day had been anything but relaxing. Sam and Jacob had worked them all to the bone. They'd been hunting, running patrol routes, emergency and normal, sparred with each other and Jacob had even 'stolen' one of the Cullen boys' shirts, making them hunt Leah half the day, since she was the second fastest, tracking scents and following prints. And on top of that they'd have to catch their own dinner.

Which was why Seth had a pair of rabbits dangling from his left hand. How he planned to cook them, she had no idea. Maybe he'd just phase and eat them raw?

"Yeah, I mean, I knew this weekend wasn't going to be all child's play, but come on", Talae took another bite of the wild goose she and Leah shared, "I'm a supernatural killing-machine, and all I wanna do is go cuddle up in my tent and sleep till Monday".

"Then you might want to go to bed now, 'cause I think they plan on getting you all up by 7 in the morning", Leah spoke, throwing an almost clean bone over her shoulder, starting on a wing.

Seth groaned, followed by Embry as he sat down across from them, "What? Aw I'm gonna die".

Leah snorted again, "whiners". They threw her a quick glare, but kept their comments to themselves.

Talae chuckled, "Embry, is that a lunchbox?" she said, pointing to the plastic box in his lap.

Embry grumbled, "yeah, well, my mom packed it. Since she doesn't know about the wolf thing, she thought I'd be needing it. Amazing she even let me go to start with". He opened the little case and pulled out a turkey sandwich, two apples and two sugar-cookies.

Seth almost fell backwards laughing, "How the hell are you going to get a full stomach out of that? You'll be out hunting by midnight!".

Embry scowled at him and pointed at Seths rabbits, "Yeah, well at least my food is cooked, how are you going to eat that exactly?".

The young wolf stopped laughing and frowned, looking at his catch. "Huh, didn't think this through, did I?".

They all laughed at him, Talae poking him in the ribs, "Nice going, Bear Grylls".

He sighed, hunching his shoulders in defeat, "I'll just go phase then, don't mind me". He got up and trudged into the forest to consume his dinner raw.

"I swear, he's adopted", Leah muttered, going back to munch on her wing, "this could really use some seasoning".

"I'll bring the barbeque sauce next time", Talae rolled her eyes, chuckling as Leah shoved her lightly.

It wasn't long after that she stumbled her way back to her tiny tent. She yawned loudly as she struggled to unzip the zipper on the 'door'.

"God friggin' dammit, just friggin' open", she murmured as the darn thing got stuck on the thin fabric of the sides. She finally tugged it loose, falling into the tent as she tripped over the edge.

She made a great 'oomph' sound as she landed on her stomach onto her duffel bag.

"Smooth Tee, you'd be great at ballet", a voice chuckled very near her. Too near to not be in the tent with her.

She jerked up with a gasp, almost emptying the poor bag with her flailing. How had she _not_ noticed his presence? His scent was everywhere and you'd have to be blind to not seeing his tall form sitting with legs crossed in the corner of that tiny tent.

"Jacob? What the frick dude? You almost gave me a heart attack", she breathed, righting herself to sit across from him, crossing her legs too, mimicking him.

"Sorry", he smiled sheepishly, rubbing the side his neck nervously.

She blinked a few times, silence settling in between them, as she willed her mind to quit napping and wake the hell up.

"What are you doing in my tent?", she finally asked, frowning confused at him.

He sighed, "I... I need to talk to you about something.". He was all tense and uneasy. Her frown deepened. Earlier that day he'd been all business, falling into the leader-role as if he was born to do it. Which he probably was. This nervous, fidgety Jacob was kind of new to her. She'd caught a glimpse of him when they first kissed, but not since.

"Okay... so, talk?", she cocked her head to the side, trying hard to focus her attention on him and not on jumping his bones, her tired body now alert and yearning. _Oh, bad bad thoughts, go away.._.

"It's not that easy", he smiled slightly, running his hand through his hair. She bit her lower lip. He just looked so _delicious_.

She scooted closer, wiggling her butt and legs until their knees touched. Leaning forward till their faces were inches from each other, she spoke as softly as she could, "take your time".

His eyes shifted between hers and her mouth a few times. His tongue darted out to wet his lips, "you're not exactly making it any easier".

She smirked at him, her eyes heavily lidded, "who, me? I'm not doing _anything_". She wanted him to break, the knot in her stomach coiling, pulsating heat instead of the usual tugging her in his direction. She could see his resolve wavering as she inched their faces closer, putting her hands on his knees to pull herself forward.

He was breathing through his mouth now, his body mimicking her movements on its own accord, "uh-huh, right".

She was a little stunned by her actions, her mind and body working together against her. She had never been the kind of girl that got down and funky with the hotest guy available, she had always been a personality-comes-first-type. But she also like Jacob for who he was. They went great together, she'd admit it, sure. And right now that little voice telling her this was way too soon to feel this way and that she was a skank was crudely shoved back and stood unattended.

She wanted him to touch her, to feel her, she needed him to need her. But she was also a patient person, she wanted him to make the first move, wanted to temp him, wanted to toy with him a bit.

Licking her upper lip, slowly and deliberately, she looked him right in the eye. Something in them snapped then, just what she'd been waiting for; she had him right where she wanted him. He leaned the last few centimeters forward and touched his lips to hers, softly, testing the waters. She gently cupped his face with her hands and kissed him back eagerly, but tenderly. _Mmh, so sweet_.

She loved the feel of his skin beneath her hands and the way he kissed her and the way he made her feel inside. The ache hummed appreciatively in her gut, coiling tight, setting her insides on fire.

They pulled back for air, but stayed so close they still shared a breath or two. His eyes searched hers. They were both panting now and she was glad she still was in her training bra and sweats. And she was most pleased to see he hadn't bothered with a shirt, sitting in front of her bare footed and in cut-off shorts only.

He apparently found what he was looking for as he crashed his lips back to hers, forcing her back as he leaned forward. When his tongue flicked her bottom lip for entrance, she let him in hungrily and tangled her own against it. She moaned into his mouth and her arms went around his neck, pulling him impossibly closer. He leaned forward till his hand hit the tent-floor behind her and crawled over her, lowering her gently down on her back. He kneeled between her legs as she fit them snuggly around his waist.

She tried to keep quiet, not entirely oblivious to the fact that they were surrounded by wolves with hyper-sensitive hearing. Luckily she could still hear laughing and talking, indicating that most were still up and in the clearing, making noises that would hopefully drown out their frantic breathing and passionated sounds.

He bit her lower lip, making her moan into his mouth instinctively, pleasure surging through her system. A hand stroked down her side, going all the way from her ribs to below her hip, trailing liquid fire wherever his fingers touched her skin.

Pulling away for a much needed breath of air, he pressed wet kisses down her jaw line and neck, finding that sweet spot in the juncture of her neck and shoulder that made her squirm and whine in bliss. He hummed against her skin, rocked his hips firmly against her, making his approval of her vocals known. She moaned again, bringing her hands down to trace the conture of his muscled chest and stomach, making him sigh against her shoulder.

She took the chance to be cheeky, "Didn't you want to talk?". Her hands ghosted over his hips and the beginning of the dun feather-like happy-trail, drawing a husky moan from his lips that she absolutely loved hearing.

He mumbled something against her neck, caressing her hip with one hand, then nuzzled against her collarbone. She giggled lightly as his breath tickled her. He pulled back and looked her in the eyes.

"You are so beautiful", he murmured, brushing her bangs clear of her face.

She blushed profoundly. _That was new_.

"Are you drunk?", she asked, not really sure she heard him right.

His face fell against her neck, "you make me drunk". She laughed, but stopped abruptly to moan instead as his hand trailed up from her hip, ghosting over the side of her breast as he suckled on her sweet spot. She arched her back, tightening her legs' grip around his waist, grinding against him. He growled in her ear, sending shivers down her spine and the coil in her gut clenched in anticipation.

She started tracing the rim of his shorts with a nail, slightly scraping against his skin, causing him to groan and bite her shoulder. She grinded against him again, his jaw clenching tighter on her shoulder, letting out a growl. Pain mixed with pleasure and she moaned digging her fingernails into his lowerback.

He let go of her shoulder, lingering his mouth over the faint bitemark, breathing heavy. She didn't move for a second, curious to see why he stopped, even more curious to find out why he didn't _continue._

Then, the heat of his skin on hers was gone, his breath on her neck vanished. Her body cried out in frustration the moment it realized he was on the other side of the tent. She could practically hear the little succubus-like voice on the inside of her skull going '_Nooooooooooo_!'.

She blinked once, twice, then propped herself up on her elbows, staring at him with a most scrutinizing stare.

"Okay, look, this is not why I came in here, and if I don't stop now I might not be able to", he rambled, shifting his eyes _everywhere_ but her, "and that's not how I want this to be".

What? All she got from that was "let's be friends" when she was pretty sure he was happy sucking her face just a moment ago. He looked genuinely nervous though, so she tried not to jump into conclusions. She just waited, impatiently, for him to continue. If there was anything that could force a person to talk, it was silence.

She kept scrutinizing him with her eyes, cocking her head to the side.

His eyes finally landed on hers when he realized she wasn't going to speak and he visably gulped.

"Okay, I sound like an idiot", he sighed, running a hand through his hair anxiously. She snorted, but scracked a lop-sided smile at his sudden vulnerability - it was cute.

He looked at her with hope in his eyes and scooted a bit closer to her again, returning to the position they started out in - knees touching, legs crossed -, taking one of her hands in his, playing with her fingers as he spoke, "I... I just want this to go the right way. I really care about you, and I don't want to.. for lack of a better word, _rush_ things".

_Rush? Are we dating now? When did that happen? Wait.. does this mean we're..._?, she thought, a confused frown appearing on her face.

He noticed, before downcasting his eyes and focusing on her fingers, "Not that we're.. Oh, this is _so_ not easy...".

_Does that mean he want's to? Do I want to?_ She mentally smacked herself; now that was a dumbass question.

She leaned forward and kissed him softly. He kissed her back just as tenderly.

"What is it that you want Jake?", she asked when she pulled away, seaching his eyes for answers.

He looked like his brain was working on highest performance level possible, before he cracked a goofy grin, "You called me 'Jake'".

She frowned at him, not quite understanding what he said at first. Then she blushed and smiled, and he reached out to cup her cheek with his hand, smiling back at her, "You never call me Jake".

"Well, Ja-_cob_ is your name, and I figured I hadn't known you long enough to have the right to call you anything else...", she murmured, closing her eyes briefly, enjoying his hand on her cheek.

He let out a short laugh, "Silly girl". He pecked her lips one more time before his demeanor grew anxious once again.

"What I want is _you_, Tee", he whispered as she leaned into his hand, not taking her eyes off of him, even as her cheeks reddened furiously.

"But I also have something very important to tell you. I should have done this from day one...", he started, staring down at his fingers playing with hers, again avoiding her gaze. He took a deep breath before speaking, "okay, so, have you ever, um, heard of, uh, imprinting?".

She thought hard for a moment, "yes". His eyes lit up with hope, but faded when she continued, "I heard Leah and Seth talking about it once or twice, but I don't know what it means. Why?".

She had heard it, no idea what it meant. She knew what the dictionary said about the word 'imprinting' or 'imprint', leaving a mark, marking, impressioning, etc. But she had a feeling it meant something else to them - the wolves. She'd not exactly been curious though, had plenty of chances to ask one of her 'brothers' or Leah about it. But she thought that if she was meant to know, then it would come to her eventually. This seemed to be that time.

"Right. Anything else?", she shook her head 'no', "okay. Uhm, right. Okay, so, you've noticed how head-over-heels in love Sam and Emily are?".

Now that he mentioned it, yes, she had seen how absorbed those two could be with each other, no matter how many people were in the room with them. To be frank, she was quite jealous of what they had, what she wished she had, hoped to have some day. But she was also filled with joy and hope because of them, knowing that love so pure could indeed exist in a world full of monsters.

She nodded her head 'yes', urging him to continue, "right. That's imprinting".

Cocking her head to the side, she shot him a confused frown, "imprinting is... love?".

He took a quick peek at her face, before sighing with a small smile, "Yes, in a manner of speaking. It's a thing we wolves go through when we meet our.. uhm, our 'significant other'", he could feel the confusion rippling off her in waves, so he continued, "and by that I mean_ soulmate._..".

Soulmate? Huh. That would most definently explain Sam and Emily's behavior. She'd never seen anyone be so into each other. That they were meant to be together due to some universal plan made perfect sense.

Wait... why was he explaining to her about imprinting to her then?

"And I know that sounds wierd and possibly unbelievable, but that's the simplest explanation there is. It affects the wolf the most, as in Sam would do anything for Em, the need to protect her and provide for her is overwhelming. All he cares about is making her happy. It affects the imprint less, but that doesn't mean they don't feel equally strong about each other".

She nodded, then asked, "how does it happen then?". Now she was curious.

"It's like love at first sight, only that's a gross understatement. It happens when your eyes meet for the first time. Sam describes it as if the whole universe is tilting, gravity is switched off and then nothing else but the imprint matters, a strong, permanent bond ties you to that person and you need them in your life as much as you need air".

Little by little the puzzle pieces clicked together in her head. Memories from the day she met him sprung to the forefront of her mind. The way her gut twisted and all noise disappeared, her surroundings fading for a minute when she'd looked into his eyes, the way she felt unrestrictedly bound to him.

_Oh boy..._

"So what you're saying is...", she started, waiting, praying for him to continue.

"Is.. that I_ think_ I imprinted on you", his voice was no more than a whisper, though she heard him quite clearly. His eyes finally landed on hers, trying to read her reaction.

_He imprin- wait what?_

"You did what?", she couldn't stop the words from bursting out of her.

He cringed slightly, "did I also mention that it's entirely uncontrollable who you imprint on?".

Was he saying what she thought he was saying? "I'm _your_ imprint, your _soulmate_?".

He nodded slowly, "yes".

"So, it's not normal for the _imprint_ to feel the 'universe shifts' thing?", she bit her lip. God, what was wrong with her now?

He frowned, "no, not that part anyway", his frown deepened, "You're taking this whole 'destined to be together' thing rather well".

She blinked, trying to shift her focus and understand what he was saying. She grinned goofily, knowing she looked like an idiot, but couldn't bring herself to give a flying fuck.

"You like me", she sung, bumping her nose against his.

He grinned, nuzzling his nose to hers, "Yeah, I guess I kinda do".

"Good. 'Cause I kinda like you too", she grinned back, but remembered what she had to say in the first place, and she took another bite at her lower lip, "but, uhm, what, just in theory, would you say if _I_ say I think I imprinted on you too".

His grin turned into a grimace, "what?".

She shot him a nervous lop-sided smile, "yeah, I guess I kinda felt the whole gravity's gone thing too...".

He looked confused to start with, but soon a smile tucked at his lips, "well, I don't know how that's possible, but it's not exactly a bad thing, is it?".

She returned his smile, "no, I guess not. It just means we're each others soulmates, that makes sense, right?".

"Right. Though I think I have to consult the council about it, but whatever", his hand tangled in her hair, bringing her closer, "for now, come here".

He kissed her then and she kissed him back with full vigor. But as the campsite grew quieter around them, she forced herself to pull back before things got hot(ter) and heavy(er), reminding herself that she was not _that_ kind of girl.

"You better evacuate my tent, Mr. Black, before people start talking", she smirked, though she was panting from their excursions.

He moved on to her neck, suckling and nibbling on her skin, "but I don't want to".

"Hey hey hey dude, you might be my soulmate but I'm not going to let you into my pants for just that. You have to work for it mister", she grabbed his head in her hands, pulling him away from her, though her body was screaming bloody murder because of it. She laughed when he pouted, "you look ridiculous".

He snorted and rolled his eyes at her. He turned his head and kissed her palm, "If you wish _dear_, then I'll leave".

"It's not that I _want_ you to, but you need to anyway, okay? Let's see where this whole imprint thing is going first, and let's not rush things", she tried mimicking his previously spoken words, hoping he got the gist of it.

Because she was not going to just let him waltz into her life like that, no sir. She had bad experience with things like that. And though she knew he was purehearted in comparisson to so many others she'd let into her life, she wasn't going to let the universe decide on her behalf. She had a choice, because you always had a choice. Even if that choice kills you, you still have one. So she was not going to fall head-over-heels for Jacob Black just yet. Or at least keep him from second base for a while.

He nodded, smiling, "right. Okay, then I guess I'd better go get some shut-eye. And you better too, if you think today was hard, then you're sorely mistaken".

He smirked when she groaned, "oh come on!".

He kissed her chastly on the mouth before making his way out of her tent. He stood outside it, holding the zipper when he blew her another kiss, "goodnight Tee".

He zipped up the tent, not waiting for a response and she could hear him walking away. She sighed and snuggled into her sleeping-bag, bunching up a hoodie for a pillow. Hugging it tight, she smiled and murmured, "goodnight Jake", before her eyes closed and she fell into a dreamless sleep.

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><p><strong>R&amp;R Please, reviews inspire me and makes me write faster!<strong>


	11. Chapter 10

**Hey everybody! So, I'm, kinda, back. I'm, kinda, sorry that I haven't written in a while, but come on, there are a lot of other Jacob fics on here, and I'm sure most of them are better too, so it's not like you had nothing to do ;D I've been playing Skyrim, yes. It is AWESOME. Nuff said. And I've been having job-problems, so a lot of reasons why inspiration has failed me lately.**

**But I hope this will satify you, if only a little. Cheers!**

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><p>Chapter Nine<p>

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><p>Jacob hadn't been kidding when he said that the following day was going to be twice as bad. Jared had apparently brought an airhorn with him and at precisely 7' o clock it sounded repeatedly throughout the forest. Talae woke with a small scream, jerking awake and into an instant upright position, making her head spin. She swore as she realised what had happened and fell back against her makeshift pillow. She heard similar rude awakenings and complaints all around her. Streching and cracking her spine and neck, she dazily looked around, trying to wake up before beginning to dress. Black sweats and a loose tank seemed appropriate for now. She shuffled around in her tent for a bit before finally stepping out of it, toothbrush, toothpaste and water bottle in hand.<p>

Putting toothpaste and a little water on the brush, she threw the tube into her tent and stuck the bottle under her arm, and walked towards the clearing while brushing her teeth.

Sam and Jared stood talking, waving to her when she entered the clearing. She waved back and continued to look around the clearing, curling her toes in the wet grass. A mumbling Leah came up behind her, coming to rest her head on Talae's shoulder.

"Not a morning person Lee?", Talae asked quietly, not being much of one herself.

"Coffee, I need coffee", Leah groaned, leaning heavily against her.

Talae snorted, "good luck with that". She spit out the toothpaste at the base of a nearby tree, gurgled a mouthfull of water and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Then she leaned on Leah, so they supported each others weight, and sighed.

"Here sis, take one of these!", came the forever cheery voice of Seth Clearwater as he came bouncing towards them. Of course _he'd_ be A-type person. He tossed a pill-bottle towards Leah and she went to lift her hand and catch it, but even her hightened reflexes and motor skills, the early awakening and coffeine deprivation dominated her body, and the plastic canister hit her smack in the forehead instead.

No reaction. Seth looked a little shocked. She didn't even get angry, just closed her eyes a couple of long seconds. Finally she murmured a quiet 'ow' and bent down to pick it up. Talae looked over her shoulder. Big red letters read 'CAFFEINE' on the front.

"Is this what I think it is?", she asked her brother as he stood in front of them, grinning.

"Caffeine pills, yeah. I thought of you when I saw them in the store, figuring it'd be difficult making coffee in these surroundings", he grinned proudly, standing tall.

"Aw, come here you", Leah mustered up enough strength to nookie him and he let her, laughing when she fell into his side from the effort. She wripped the lid off and took two in her mouth and swallowed them dry. "I'm keeping these", she said and stuffed the bottle in her pants' pocket.

Leah woke up after that and the day could go on. And it did. They had a similar schedule as the day before, but today seemed to focus on fight-training more that tracking and catching your prey.

The Cullens had agreed to help out, and they met Carlisle, Jasper and Emmett in another, bigger clearing a few miles away from camp. So most of the day went by with the pups learning how to fight real vampires, which was much better than Jared or Leah in one of the leeches shirts.

Jasper tought them strategies on how to fight newborns, since some of the wolves, including Talae, hadn't been around the first time they had that lesson. He also went a bit into how to try and fight vampires with special abilities, but told them that if they'd ever come across one, to work together and play it smart.

When they finally, tired and exchausted but wiser nonetheless, finished for the day, they had to catch their own dinner. Again.

Talae and Leah had worked together, repeating last nights success and had caught a big, fat wild turkey, and on their treck back had uncovered a patch of eatable mushrooms. Their night couldn't get any better. They even had leftovers, which they gave to Seth, feeling sorry for him that he'd only caught a lousy rabbit again.

Only when she finally laid herself to rest for the night, did she have the time to think about her and Jacob. She was a bit disappointed that he wasn't in her tent when she entered, but what can you do.

She got warm all over thinking about him, thinking about the imprint. She was happy, to say the least, that they were soulmates. First because, let's face it, she was never going to find anyone like him, which would make sense seeing as they were theoretically made for just each other. Second because, well, she'd never have to worry about 'the one' anymore. No more failed relationships, no more broken hearts. She'd found the place she belonged, and couldn't ask for more.

But she wasn't going to let the imprint rule her lovelife. She got that they were inseperable, and she was already on the way to falling deeply and madly in love with him. But just because they had the rest of eternity together didn't mean he'd get all the cake right away. Oh no. They'd do it the right way. If she was going to fall in love with him it'd be on her own terms and because of who he was, not because of some universal power watching them from on high... or something.

"Tee, are you awake?", Leah's voice questioned and when she looked up she could skim the outline of her sister wolf's shadow on the tent's front.

"Yeah, barely. What's up?", she murmured, sitting up and stifling a yawn as Leah unzipped the tent-flap and let herself in. She was carrying her sleeping-bag in one hand and a plastic net of candybars in the other.

"Thought you could use some girl talk", Leah zipped the tent back up and unfolded the sleeping-bag besides Talae's before throwing herself on it with a tired sigh. "You don't mind me crashing here tonight, do you?".

Talae snorted, grabbing the candybars from her, "Nah, these will pay for your stay quite nicely".

"Awesome. I was dying, sleeping next to Seth. I know he's young, but damn he snores as loud as a freaking buffalo, and then he kicks too, god", she groaned, taking the candybar Talae was holding out for her. She took half of it off in one bite, chewing loudly before continuing, "so, Jake finally told you about imprinting huh?".

The younger she-wolf chewed thoughtfully on her own chocolate treat, "yeah. Kind of life-changing, isn't it?".

Leah let out a short, sarcastic laugh, "kind of?".

She smiled, "okay, entirely life-changing then. Have you imprinted?".

"No. And I kind of don't want to either, the whole taking-your-free-will-away thing not big in my book", Leah shrugged her shoulders before taking another bite.

"What? You don't want to find true love?", Talae frowned slightly, drawing her legs up to her chest so she could rest her chin on her knees.

Leah gave her a wierd smile before chomping down the last bits of chocolate. She tucked her legs under her butt and unwrapped another candybar, "Sure. Some day. But I want to do it on my own terms, not being thrown in with whatever guy 'the universe' thinks is best for me. I'm fully capable of making my own decisions, thank you very much".

"I get your point", Talae nodded, taking first bite of the Snickers in her hand. "I know you've been in love before, but I don't know what happended. I take it it didn't end well for you to have such strong opinions about love now?", she spoke softly, knowing a broken heart could take forever to heal.

"Yeah, it did", Leah sighed and for a second looked like she wasn't going to elaborate. There was a moment of silence before she continued, "It was Sam".

Talae choked on her chocolate, "I'm sorry?".

Leah snorted, half amused, "Yeah, _that_ Sam, the Alpha Sam. I know, making bad worse, but in my defense it happended way before any of us first phased". It wasn't as horrible to talk about after all Leah discovered, the words came easy and no anger or regret pooled in her gut. She was relieved, encouraged, maybe she had finally put it behind her for good.

"But... Oh my god, so he... imprinted on Em when you were together? That's what happened, right?", Talae was baffled, how awful must Leah have felt when that happened, she couldn't imagine.

Leah cringed, knowing it sounded as bad as it had been, "Yeah. But I've moved on from that, though I still don't feel comfortable being alone with Sam. Reminds me of what I lost ya know?". She started picking at the candywrapper in her hand instead of eating it's contents. Opening up had never been her strong side.

"I get it", Talae smiled gently, lightly punching her shoulder, trying to signal that sharing was okay.

Leah threw her a lopsided smile, "Yeah, I guess you do. And I'm glad you and Jacob found each other, lord knows he's one to deserve a little happiness".

"Yeah.. Wait, what?", she tried making sense of Leah's words, "Deserve?".

Leah cringed, again, knowing Jacob probably wouldn't want her revealing his rather up-and-down past with certain individuals. She knew he'd tell her eventually, but if he hadn't already, she could end up giving him a shit-storm if Talae took things the wrong way.

She took another bite off chocolate, chewing slowly, trying to think of the right thing to deflate the question. Talae's eyes narrowed more and more, as if she could stare Leah into answering. Finally she spoke, "Let's just say, recent years haven't been kind on him, but things are definently looking up".

The only reason she wasn't preparing to interrogate Leah right that instance was the cloud of fatigue that fogged her mind. She lifted one eyebrow, giving the older girl one last stare, "Mkay".

Leah exhaled quietly, mentally wiping her forehead in relief.

Talae finished her candybar and dropped the bag off to the side, before falling back against her sweater-pillow with a sigh, "I'm glad we had this boot-camp thing, but man, I'm so happy it's over tomorrow".

Chucking the now empty wrapper to the other side, Leah also fell back, with an 'oomph' as her back hit the floor. She sighed as she laid her arms behind her head, "Yeah, I know what you mean. I love the guys to death and all, but they can be a bit... much".

"Mmh, hear hear", Talae mumbled as her eyes got heavier and she snuggled further into the sleepingbag.

There was a quite moment, the laughter outside had died down and the sound of tent-zippers and yawning boys shuffling about meddled with the wind in the trees and a lonely owl hooting not too far away.

"Hey Tee?", Leah whispered, turning sluggishly to her side to look at Talae, struggling to keep but one eye open.

"Mmh?".

"Take care of Jacob, will ya?".

"Couldn't dream of doing otherwise, sister".

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><p>"Ah! Victor! At last you return", called a slightly amused voice through the extravagant hall and chamber, meeting the blonde vampires ear before he actually saw the man.<p>

"Yes, it is me Aro", Victor kneeled briefly as he came to stand before the three thrones, all of which were currently occupied.

"I hope you bring news, good ones preferably", Aro smiled, "Ah, I see you are one appendage shorter. Such a shame".

Victor snarled quietly and tucked the remaining half of his arm further behind his back, "Yes, I bring news, however, it is for you to decide wether you deem them good or bad".

He stepped forward and extended his remaining hand to Aro, who gently grasped it in his. Over a few minutes Victor mentally relayed his journey to him, a silence filling the throne-room as Caius and Markus grew both anxious and intrigued at his sides.

"Hm, most troubling", Aro said as he released Victor and sat back in his seat. He waved a hand in the blonde vampires direction, "you are dismissed". Victor stood stunned for a moment before gathering himself, bowing curtly and striding out of the chamber.

"Problems, Aro?", Markus spoke lazily, though he was eager to hear the details.

Aro glanced in his direction, "Nothing we can't overcome, don't worry Markus". He brought his hand up under his jaw and rested his elbow against the arm of the chair as he stared out into empty space before him, thinking.

"Aro?" Caius tried, leaning slightly out of his seat, looking questining into the side of Aro's face.

After a moment, he spoke again, "They have grown stronger. And their numbers are steadily increasing it seems. We will have to deviate from our original plans". He reviewed the scenes in his mind once more, taking in every piece and detail, "Very strong indeed".

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><p><em>Wham!<em>

"Ow!", Talae jerked upright as a hand smacked against her cheek with some force.

She was preparing to give the attacker a piece of her mind, but as she glanced around the tent with sleep-crusted eyes, no one was there.

"The hell?", confusion set in. _Maybe it was a dream..._? she thought, starting to lay back down.

_Thunk!_

A rockhard knee connected with her hip.

"Ow! Goddammit, Leah!", she'd found the source of the unmotivated abuse. _Like brother, like sister_, she guessed. Leah mumbled something incoherent in her sleep and turned over, occasionally beating the side of the tent instead. Talae huffed and rubbed her sore hip.

She thought for a brief moment about falling back into the snuggly warmth of the sleeping-bag, but decided against it when she saw the beating the tent took from Leah, not wanting to be in that position. She glanced at her phone. 8 am. Damn. It was like sleeping in had been overruled by abrupt and absurdly early awakenings that weekend. Might as well start packing up and get ready for going home.

She shuffled quietly around the tent, putting things back in their cases, pockets or bags, careful not to go near Leah, in fear of being kicked again, or you know, waking the poor girl. She pulled on a black tanktop and her sweats, bypassing the socks and shoes again in favor of the cold, brisk debris of forest floor. She stepped outside of the tent when she was satisfied with her reorganising of the interior and took a deep breath of chilly morning air. It was still dark out and she could hear most of her brothers snoring loudly all around her. Her ear twitched as she caught sound of a twig snapping a few hundred yards away. Probably a deer, she thought, and heard the husky breath of a nearby bear, most likely scouring for food. A few birds were starting their day chirping away above her, and the wind blew lazily through the trees and into her hair.

If she hadn't been such a B-type person, she might have enjoyed the beauty of that particular morning, but alas. She rubbed her eyes until they were crust-free and yawned loudly and stretched her limbs.

After fetching her tootbrush and speedily brushing her teeth, getting rid of the awful taste on her tongue and tucking it back in a random pocket on her duffel bag, she started towards the clearing. There was a light freshly fallen layer of snow on the ground and she was happy again that the weekend was over. A small fire was lighting up the dark a bit away and she could see Seth's boyish face staring into the flames from the log he was sitting on.

"Hey Seth", she greeted as she reached the fire and plopped down beside him with a sigh.

"'Morning Tee", he smiled, "Poptart?".

Her eyes widened at the packet of Hot Fudge Sunday Poptarts he was holding out for her.

"What? Poptarts? How the _hell_ did you keep these to yourself in a camp full of super-sensitive noses?", she gasped, taking a silver pocket out of the box. She stripped the foil off and took a slow bite of the filled pastry, "Oh god, that's good".

Seth chuckled and put the package by his feet, "I wrapped them in a used t-shirt sprayed with cologne".

"That's genius", she admitted, chewing slowly to preserve the taste, "these are my favorite, thank you Seth".

"Don't mention it", he smiled, and took another bite of the Poptart already in his hand.

A comfortable silence settled over them as they masticated their food, staring at the flames licking at the, suprisingly, dry firewood. She heard the rusling of a tent-flap behind her and a familiar yawn.

She was starting on her second Poptart as a pair of strong arms landed softly on her shoulders. They loosly encircled her neck and a warm breath fanned close to her ear, "G'morning sunshine".

A smile tucked the corners of her mouth up as a pair of lips kissed her temple, "Good morning to you too".

Jacob sat down beside her on the log and soon spotted the pastry in her hand. "_Where_ did you get that?", he demanded, pointing to the frosted goodness as she brought it up to her mouth and took a big bite.

"It fell out of a tree". She looked away, trying to stop herself from smiling and revealing her lie. He obviously didn't believe her though; when she had suppressed the giggles and turned back to give him a serious stare he was still looking at her with one raised eyebrow.

"Oh really?", he asked, crossing his arms. She nodded, pressing her lips tightly together. She saw his eyes flicker over to Seth and the 'tart he was trying to hide behind his leg.

"Seth?", he playfully glared, "You have anything to add?".

The young wolf tried to unnoticably scoot away, "I-I don't know what you're talking about Jake". But as he shifted on the log, he accidently nudged the packet on the ground and it fell over, spilling it's contents in plane view.

"Ha-HA! I knew it, you sneaky little bastard!", before Seth could protest, Jacob snagged a pocket off the ground and ripped the packing, taking half of the pastry off in one bite, "Aw yeah".

"Tell me why I'm just sitting here quietly when my food's being stolen?" Seth asked, frowning as he looked questionably at Talae.

As she shrugged, finishing her last Poptart, Jake gulped down with an 'Aahh', "Because I'm the boss of you, that's why".

"I thought so", Seth shook his head sadly, crushing the now empty cardboard box under his foot, "good thing we're going home today".

"Whatever do you mean, this has been a most informing and educational weekend", Talae rolled her eyes and wiped the back of her hand over her mouth, getting rid of stray crumbs.

A corner of the sky that they could see was slowly getting lighter, indicating that the sun was indeed going to show up that day. The sounds of teens waking up increased and soon the clearing was buzzing with talking and the taking down of tents.

"I can still ride with you home, right?", Talae asked looking up at Jacob after they'd been sitting at the fire for a while and the conversation had come to a slow stop.

"Of course", he smiled, putting an arm around her shoulders and tucking her into his side, "you think I'd let you walk all the way home?".

"Well, I'm sure one of the others would've giving me a ride if that was the case", she shrugged before resting her head against his shoulder, enjoying the warmth he eminated on her skin. He kissed the top of her head and she couldn't help but smile.

"Well, maybe, but you are driving with me, so end of discussion", he stated, chucking fingernips of snow into the fire, watching it melt as she snuggled against his side.

"Waaaaait... are you two, like.. an _item_?", Seth leaned forward and eyed them suspiciously.

Talae found her cheeks reddening slightly and looked questinably up at Jacob. Were they? They'd agree to.. what had they agreed to exactly? She understood the imprint part, at least she thought she did, but were they dating or...?

Jacob meet her gaze with his own, and she felt her insides going gooey. She knew what she felt for him, that was for sure.

"Yeah, I... I guess we kinda are", he said with a smirk, not taking his eyes away from hers. She smiled and pressed her lips against his briefly, "I fairly sure she's my imprint".

That didn't exactly ease the confusion off of Seth's face, if fact, it got him even more confused, "Wait, what? You're 'fairly sure'? How can you not be sure, I mean, all the guys talk about it like it's a pretty sure thing, like... as sure as bears shit in the woods! How can you not be sure?".

"Well, thing is.. I think I kinda imprinted on him too", Talae said, throwing him a sheepish grin, shrugging.

He blinked a couple of times before his face took on another 'what the hell?'-grimace, "A... double imprint? Is that even possible?".

"How should I know, it just feels right", Jacob said, mimicing her shrugging, "now drop it Seth, or you'll be on patrol tonight".

The younger wolf shot him another skeptical look, but didn't say another word. Talae smiled apologetically at him, and tried not to fall asleep again as Jacob's warmth enveloped her and a gentle quietness settled.

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><p><strong>Not the longest chapter, I know. Just thought I'd put whatever I had out here. R&amp;R!<strong>


	12. Chapter 11

**Hi guys! Been a while. I've had a really bad case of laziness.. and writers block. And it sucks, because I have so much planed for this story. I even have the sequel's plot in my head! So, I hope I still got some readers left.**

**Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed and/or favorited the last chapter!**

**Well, without further ado, here it is! Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 11<p>

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><p>The rest of winter came and went. The snow was retreating slowly from the Washington landscape though the weather remained gloomy and maintained a steady flow of rain, as was the customary climate of said state.<p>

Talae had settled into life quite nicely.

At school she held on to her little group of friends and went unnoticed in the crowd, once everybody got used to her presence. She wasn't anywhere near being a straight A student, but she kept her grades at an acceptable level and her parents were satisfied, as well as her teachers. Most days were just boring for her, taking up time before she could hang out with the pack or Sunday.

She and Sunday grew to best friend-status. They always had a good time when hanging out or doing schoolwork. Sunday always had time for listening, she always had a plan for them and her easy-going attitude always helped Talae when she was in over her head. But the she-wolf longed to tell her friend about everything, everything she couldn't, anyways. It wasn't that she was having trouble keeping her true nature from the blonde girl; it was just that she wanted to be herself always, to not hide from those she cared about. So many of the concerns she had she couldn't share since they were rooted in the supernatural world. And since Sunday wasn't family or an imprint she wasn't allowed to know, no matter how much Talae wanted to tell her.

On the other hand she had Leah. She probably would've lost her mind if she never had the chance to vent to Leah. Leah was biased on many points, but in return she was a part of 'the family' and everything she couldn't tell Sunday she could tell Leah. Leah became her rock, her crutch, her unrelenting, sarcastic support. And it went both ways. They became so close that they occasionally would finish each other's sentences or share one look and know what the other was thinking, annoying the boys to no end.

Falling into her natural place in the pack, she'd adapted quite nicely to being a pack-wolf, considering she'd been a lone wolf and her own master for so long. But it was what she was made for, and unlike some of her brothers, she had accepted that fact from the beginning. She reveled in being what she was and wouldn't change it for anything. She knew freedom like no human ever would.

The pack gained a few members over the months, a few young pups that wanted to join what they called 'Black's Pack'. A gangly girl with short, light-brown hair, 14 years old, named Charlotte, she phased shortly after their "Shape-shifter Bootcamp" in January, in a period where they had more than normal nomadic-vampire activity in the area. It was nice for Leah and Talae to have another girl in the club and they took her under their wings. She was shy and quiet but eager to learn and had a very gentle nature. In addition to her, two teenage boys joined as well, Aiden and Hunter. Both were 15 years of age but two completely different individuals. Aiden was a typical boy, loud and cocky, but a sweetheart when he wanted to be. Hunter was quiet, sweet to a fault and a hopeless romantic. All three quickly fell into the natural order of things.

The Cullens also became regulars in her life. Once she got used to mainly breathing through her mouth when she was near them, she began to see who they were underneath. She considered Esme a second mother just by the way she always had food ready for them and Carlisle like the down-to-earth uncle-type. She got along with Jasper and Emmett the best. Emmett's sense of humor was a mirror-image of hers. She couldn't count all the moments they had spent dying from laughter over something ridiculous while everyone stared at them as if they had three heads. He was a big teddy-bear in reality, despite his intimidating exterior. Jasper was friendly, talkative and ironic once he got used to her scent. They would sometimes sit for hours telling 'war-stories', Jasper's slightly more 'war-ish' than Talae's, but comparing scars they would and sharing tactics became their thing.

Alice was a little too... girly for Talae's taste, but she was nice to be around and upbeat. Rosalie warmed up, if only by a few degrees. The occasional 'mutt' or 'fleabag' was thrown around when she was in a foul mood, but other than that they got along well - with not speaking to each other. Bella and Edward weren't around as much, seeing as they had their own little family, which suited Talae perfectly. Firstly, because Edward's gift made her extremely uncomfortable as well as his stoic behavior. And secondly, although Renesmee was a peach, her intellect made her a bit creepy when she was supposed to look like an 8-year old. And thirdly, and most importantly, she felt slightly uneasy, even a little awkward, in Bella's presence after the conversation Talae and Jacob had had about his past feelings for the brunette vampire...

_They were sitting at the bank of the river that split La Push and Cullen territory, Talae dipping her bare feet in the water, sloshing them back and forth while Jacob lied with arms behind his head next to her, looking up at the forest canopy as the last snow of the year began to fall in gentle waves._

_It was Friday, two weeks after 'Bootcamp'. It was early evening and the last of the light was steadily fleeing from the sky, to be replaced by the midnight dark, grey clouds spotting the view. They had just finished patrol and were enjoying a quiet moment and each other's company._

_Talae had been thinking, not constantly, about the thing Leah had said about Jacob finally getting the break he deserved. She couldn't pinpoint what she possibly could have meant by that. She and Jacob talked, a lot, and never had he mentioned anything that seemed to match up with what Leah had said. So, if he wasn't going to bring it up, she would._

_"Jake?" she started, digging her fingers into the pebbles littering the shoreline._

_"Mmh?" he hummed, unmoving._

_"Okay, don't take this the wrong way, but, uhm... Did you have some sort of hard time before I moved here?" the words flew from her mouth, a slight blush in her cheeks as she realized that had definitely sounded better in her head._

_He sat up slightly, leaning back on his elbows, "Huh?"_

_She bit her lip, turning to look at his face, "It… it's just something Leah said a while back that, kinda got me thinking…" she trailed off, looking at his defined collarbone instead of his eyes._

_Snaking an arm around her waist he tugged her closer and kissed the top of her head, "What did she say?"_

_She rested her head against his shoulder with a sigh, "She said that recent years hadn't been kind to you, but things were looking up..."_

_Jacob frowned at the choice of words, though he couldn't argue with the truth they held, "Well, I can really only think of one thing that would apply to. Though it might be kind of a big thing."_

_Lifting her head, she looked at him with a raised eyebrow, waiting for him to continue._

_"Uhm, just so we're clear, the only reason I haven't brought this up before is because, well, it's a long time ago and done with and was almost completely erased from my mind", she nodded and he continued, "When I was around 16, I had this huge crush on a girl. The feeling wasn't mutual, in fact, she loved someone else and I was kinda heartbroken. They were getting married and it just tore me apart."_

_A sad look appeared on Talae's face, the corners of her mouth tugging downwards as she thought of Jacob being hurt, something that tore at her heartstrings just imagining the possibility._

_He gave her a reassuring smile and caressed her cheek with his thumb, "Making matters worse, she admitted to loving me back, but it just wasn't enough. She loved the other guy more. The killing-blow though, was when she decided to die for him, to become one of his kind"._

_Frowning in confusion, she took a deep breath to say something, but he gently pressed his index finger to her lips, silencing her, "Just, let me get this out". She nodded and he smiled at her before continuing._

_"She decided to become a vampire. After their wedding, he would turn her himself. But this is all in the past, more drama happened that I'm not proud of, but it's done and over with. I moved on with my life, eventually, and then I met you", he grinned, making her smile," and everything just fell into place. End of story."_

_She rolled her eyes with a smirk, "Oh please. Who was it?"_

_Now he looked uncomfortable. He didn't really want to go down that road; he couldn't calculate how she'd react. _No_, he thought, _no secrets_._

_"Okay, promise me you won't... kill me," he grimaced._

_"Okay..."_

_"It… it was Bella," he spoke, flinching away from the fist he believed was coming. When nothing happened, he dared open his eyes and took a peek at her._

_"You… what?" she breathed, "Bella? Isabella Cullen? How, wha-, oh dear," she rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hands, "I did not see this coming."_

_"Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner but I didn't think it mattered. It's all in the past, it's over, no big deal," he grabbed her shoulders, persuading her to look him in the eye, "okay?"_

_"I just... I kinda have this need to... hit her with something hard... repeatedly," she sighed, shaking slightly._

_"That's what she said," he grinned, but quickly stopped and ducked his head in shame when she shot him a glare._

_"Look, I'm not mad, I understand your reasoning, it's just the thought of someone hurting you... I-I can't... stand it," she murmured, tearing her eyes from his._

_He smiled, tipping her chin up so he could kiss her. She responded, gently moving her lips against his, forgetting the pain._

_"Talae, it's in the past. I know it doesn't make it right but what's done is done. And please promise me you won't kill Bella. I think it would be bad for, well, all of us if the Cullens became our enemies," he said as he pulled away, stroking her jaw with his thumb._

_"I... Fine," she sighed with a smile, closing her eyes and enjoying the warmth of his hand._

_"There's a good girl," he snickered._

Needless to say she'd beat him up for that comment but as far as the Bella-thing went, she learned to live with it. Even if she felt uncomfortable in Bella's presence. But she trusted Jacob when he said it was in the far past and that issue had been dealt with. He wouldn't lie to his imprint, right?

Other than the other little obstacles, like math and evil vampires, life was great.

March came around quickly and the snow vanished from the general landscape. Something Talae was a bit concerned about; no more blending in with the landscape. As a consequence, she was given patrols far away from civilization and was 'forbidden' from phasing too close to the cities. It bothered her a bit when these things were decided because of something she couldn't control; the color of her fur. But she adapted, as any animal would.

"Take the next right!" Sunday shouted in her ear, making her wince a bit. She nodded and Sunday's arms tightened around her mid-section as she turned the bike down the first road on the right, which then quickly turned into a dirt path. Good thing it was an off-road bike, with the Washington rain and mud making it difficult to steer otherwise. Trees shadowed their ride on both sides and not too far down the muddy-path a house came into view. Well, more like a cabin. Wooden exterior with vines growing up the sides, circled by the surrounding forest, completely isolated. And flowers, randomly scattered around the perimeter, not fully blossoming yet but well on their way.

She slowed the bike to a stop a few yards from the porch and noticed the wooden hanging bench there, with floral-patterned cushions, and she couldn't help but smile. This was so Sunday.

Turning off the bike and nudging down the kickstand, she felt Sunday remove her arms from around her waist and hop off. Dismounting the bike herself, she shook out her hair and then tried to smooth it down. Since she'd insisted Sunday wear her helmet for safety reasons, the wind had been free to tangle her hair as it saw fit. And so it had.

She gave up on the hair, pulling it into a loose ponytail instead, and hung the helmet on the handle as Sunday handed it to her.

"Nice place Sunny", she said, adjusting the shoulder strap of her bag as she tailed after her golden-haired friend up the porch steps.

"Thank you, I do love it something fiercely myself", Sunday said with a grin, fishing her keys out of her backpack and unlocking the door.

As the door swung open with a creak, Talae wondered for a second why she'd never been to Sunday's house before. With a mental shrug she stepped in behind the blonde girl, taking off her shoes as Sunday dumped her backpack on the floor and went into what Talae thought must've been the kitchen.

"You want ice tea?" she yelled, though Talae could hear her just fine.

"Sure!" Talae yelled back, dumping her bag next to Sunday's.

Stretching with a yawn, she took a quick look around. The house was small-ish and filled with what some people might call crap. Antique furniture everywhere, paintings of different sceneries on the walls taking up most of the wall-space, glass jars filled with... stuff, and plants. Plants to the fucking brim: big plants, small plants, green plants, plants with buds, blooming plants, cacti and orchids. She took a deep breath and got a total sensory overload. When she was done coughing, making a mental note never to breath that deeply anywhere near Sunday's house again, she noticed that the smell itself wasn't bad, and that she actually kind of liked it. There was just a lot of it.

She made her way to the room Sunday was in and stood in the doorway as she watched her fiddle around a small, cozy kitchen. Several herbs and spice-plants stood in small pots in one windowsill, jars of dried spices and old cook-books in the other. The cabinets and cupboards were a fresh mint-green with white leaves painted along the bottom rims. Even her stove looked old.

Sunday noticed her eyeing the cupboards. "I painted them myself", she beamed with a smile, presenting Talae with a tall glass of peach ice tea.

"Quite the artist, huh?" Talae grinned before taking a nice, cool sip of her beverage.

"I try", Sunday grinned back, motioning for Talae to follow her, two bags of chips and her own glass in her arms.

They entered the humble living room across from the kitchen and Sunday dropped the chips to an old, oak coffee-table with intricate carvings and sat herself in the beat-up, old leather sofa behind it. The only relatively new thing in the room, Talae noticed, was the flat screen TV and even that was a few years old. An ancient looking armoire desk stood in a corner, filled with stacks of paper and even older looking books.

"So, where's your mom?" she asked casually when she sat down next to Sunday, who'd reached for the bag labeled 'Cheetos'. Talae didn't know much about her home-life. The few times she'd brought it up Sunday would fiddle with her hair or clothes, answer in incoherent sentences and change the subject, so she'd learned not to push it. It was okay though, she didn't have to know everything about Sunday to like her. She'd learned enough to know Sunday lived with her mom and that said mom was working out of town a lot, leaving her daughter to fend for herself mostly. Sunday never complained though, sometimes it was like she forgot that she even had a mother.

"Uhm, away..." she nearly ripped the bag in her hand in half with a nervous twitch, "out on business." She smiled nervously before handing the now open bag of chips to Talae.

Talae nodded and didn't think more of it, happily munching away on the cheesy snack as Sunday grabbed the remote off the table and turned the TV on.

Even though it was her first visit to Sunday's house, this had become something of a routine of theirs. They'd hang out, eat snacks and watch TV, make an effort on doing some homework, then eat more snacks and watch a movie, or, more TV. They'd talk during it all of course, talking about boys, school, drama and the likes. Teenage-stuff.

Their friendship was such a normal and easy-going one, but Talae couldn't help but feel blessed nonetheless.

When they had watched their usual Thursday-afternoon shows, they started on the homework-part of the day. Though it wasn't surprising when half way through, Talae 'accidentally' hit the on-button on the TV-remote, and why they couldn't waste precious electricity now could they? Homework abandoned, Sunday fetched them another glass of ice tea and a packet of chocolate chip cookies and another few hours of TV-watching commenced.

When Talae finally made her way home, it was around half past nine, and dark out. The stars were, as usual, hiding behind a thick layer of clouds, and raining too. Good thing she'd brought her raincoat with her. Not hearing anything more than the gentle rumbling of the bike's engine, she drove more relaxed than she usually did. She'd been riding said bike for the last few months. The beginning was a bit rickety but, with a few lessons from Jacob and snow-free roads to travel on, her biking skills were nearing perfection. So much so that she'd agreed to go with the pack to a bike trail near the city of Joyce the very next weekend.

Over the engine she heard a warning howl in the distance, recognizing it as Embry. Frowning, she slowed down the bike a bit.

"Aaarh!", she yelped as a dark shadow skidded past her vision. Unintentionally yanking on the handle from shock, the bike wobbled and for a moment she thought she was going to experience her first crash.

In the last second, she managed to pull the bike upright and steady it. Taking a shaky, but relieved breath she turned her head in the directions of the shadow, relaxing when she saw the outline of a deer by the tree line, hearing it snorting shortly after.

Another howl joined Embry's, this one being his current patrol-mate, Hunter. Embry answered Hunter's call, and she noticed he was noticeably closer to her position. Just as she was about to pull the brake and go join them, she lost all breath in her body as something solid, cold and jagged collided with her, throwing her off the bike and sliding painfully across the road and into a tree. The bike ended up in a ditch as the 100 lbs rock that had hit her clunked on the asphalt a few times, before coming to a standstill.

Blacking out for a few seconds, her eyes flew open as the pain set in. She screamed until she had no more air in her lungs. It hurt too much to breathe, so her body wouldn't allow her more than a few shallow breaths at a time. She whimpered, tears coming to her eyes as she tried to sit up, finally managing to get herself upright and leaning against the rest of the tree she'd collided with, seeing as she'd cracked it in half when she'd hit it.

She heard several more wolves phasing and calling out and yelled out in pain, hoping they'd hear her scream.

The whole right side of her body hurt and felt like it was shattered. She couldn't tell if the pain was more intense than when Emmett had tackled her that one time.

"I got one Fedir, I got one!" a shrill voice rang through the darkness.

Panic clawed its way into her mind as the sickening smell of leech reached her through the rain. She gave a rather inhuman whine when she saw a small figure appear in the light of the nearest lamppost. Then Jacob's fierce howl rang a few miles away, and she couldn't help but wonder for a second, if he was going to make it before they killed her.

"Something is different with this one," it spoke out as another shadowy shape, twice its size, appeared beside it. It sniffed the air, "do you smell it Fedir?"

The unmistakable sound of paws thumping as they touched the ground at a furious pace, came closer and closer.

A few more seconds, please, she thought and whimpered again as the pain throbbed over her panic. She could barely see the leeches on the road, her vision was mostly made up of black dots and white prickles.

The smallest vampire took steps towards her, but as she felt one of the wolves close in, the big one stepped in front of it. "Get back Zoya", sounded a deep, heavily-accented voice.

She dared take her eyes off of them and look in the direction of the incoming wolf. Embry's dark grey wolf came out of the nearby foliage, his eyes shifting quickly and repeatedly between the vampires and her. She let out a mix between a dry cry and a relieved laugh when she saw him, fresh tears streaming down her face as she knew the others weren't far behind.

When Embry had established that she was still breathing his eyes focused on the vampires as he stalked towards her. Once he was close enough he whined and nuzzled her left shoulder.

"Ow, Embry, not so hard please", she whimpered and he immediately eased up on the pressure. "I-," she cried out as a particularly nasty twinge of pain throbbed in her hip, "I might need the 'good doctor', I think I might- ah! - have a more than a few broken bones".

"There they are, we found them Fedir," the smallest vampire said, "That was rather fast, don't you think?" It sounded terribly pleased, and it was then that Talae finally had a clear enough head to realize the voice was female and childlike.

Her ears picked up more thumping of several sets of paws closing in and for the first time in the last five minutes she felt like she might actually survive this. Leah came rushing out of the forest, growling and snarling something fierce in the direction of the vampires. She came to an abrupt stop half way between them and Embry and Talae. The hairs on her back stood up and if Talae hadn't known Leah she would have been terrified of her by the feral growls coming from her.

"I said back Zoya," warned the big vampire, the voice male and deep, and pushed the girl behind him before he snarled back at Leah.

More beating of paws and in a flash Hunter's black wolf stood besides Leah's, head down in a growl, back legs tensed in anticipation. The light-grey spots above his eyes, that matched the tip of his tail, made him look angry and intimidating in wolf form. Gods know, he wasn't in human form.

A coughing fit shook its way through Talae, and another pained cry flew from her lips once it was over. Something tickled her chin, so with a small effort she brought her hand up to get rid of it.

"Uh oh", she whispered when her hand was smudged with that oh so familiar metallic, crimson liquid. No wonder it hurt so much to breath. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to focus on taking shallow breaths.

Within 30 seconds she was surrounded by wolves. She felt Embry leave her side, but he was soon replaced by someone else.

"Jacob," she breathed, recognizing his scent instantly. He whimpered and nuzzled her neck carefully. "Did you- ngh- contact the Cullens?" she asked, sighing in slight relief when he nodded.

Several of the wolves growled louder or barked, taking Jacob's eyes off of her. She followed his line of sight with barely open eyes. The one called Fedir, the big one, was pushing the girl backwards as Hunter, Leah, Embry and Seth were slowly advancing on them backed up by the rest of the pack. It seemed Jacob had given the kill-order.

"_Nazad_ Zoya, _my povernemosya_," Fedir snarled, herding the girl further behind him when she hissed at the pack. She locked her bloody red eyes on Talae and smiled. An eerie, hair-raising, chilling, terrifying smile that made all the alarms go off in Talae's head. Talae bared her teeth at the vampire in a weak growl and narrowed her eyes in a glare.

The vampire's smile widened, before she was pushed into the opposite tree line by Fedir. The moment they stepped into the shadow the pack sprung into action and were off in a blink.

Jacob stayed at her side, lying down beside her.

"Jake, you should g-go with them", she groaned, going into another coughing fit, spitting up more blood. If she had a punctured lung, which seemed likely with the blood-spitting, then it was already trying to heal. So while she wasn't going to bleed out, she still had a broken-off rib lodged in her lung. And though she was keen on getting it out soonest possible, she was more interested in getting the bastard blood-sucker who'd put her in the situation to start with.

He gave her a seriously incredulous look and snorted. No way was he leaving her alone.

"Okay, f-fine. Is C-Carlisle coming?" her voice was barely above a whisper, she felt lightheaded and everything was fading a little too quickly.

He nodded, but that was about the only thing she could make out before her vision went dark, even with her eyes wide open. _Damn, how many times will this happen?_ she thought. The warmth Jacob emanated disappeared, along with the soft brush of his fur, but soon after she felt his hands on her cheek.

"Talae? Come on, stay with me", she faintly heard his voice plead.

She tried answering him, but she felt another blood-trail escape her mouth. Well, rib in lung was definitely not healthy. If she wasn't so far gone, she'd blush at his nakedness, but alas. As it was, she couldn't really see anything, anyway.

Soon all sound faded too, along with conscious thought.

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><p><strong>So... As it is, I already have the next chapter ready! So, depending on how many reviews you give, it'll be out fast, or slow… See, I can fish xD<strong>

**Until next time!**


	13. Chapter 12

**Hi again folkes! Update time! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, every single one means a lot to me! And thanks to my wonderful beta A.J Scarlet!**

**I hope you like it!**

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><p>Chapter 11<p>

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><p>Sound was the first thing that came back to her. At first it was just the blood rushing through her head, reminding her of the ocean. Then came the voices, but she couldn't make them out. It kind of sounded like she was underwater.<p>

Then came the pain. Only it was a dull throb by now, which she felt immensely grateful for. The whole right side of her body hurt, centring around her hip mostly, but at least it felt whole.

The voices became louder, but not less scrambled. She could make out some words, like "broken" and "worry," even a single "calm down."

Someone took her hand and pressed her knuckles to a pair of lips, and she knew Jacob was at her side. It eased her mind a bit and she gave waking up an honest try.

Groaning, she tried opening her eyes, but a bright light was readily waiting for her, blinding her and she had to shut them tight. At least she could groan.

The voices became clearer after that and she heard her name being called gently several times.

"Talae? Come on baby, wake up," followed by long, warm kisses to her knuckles.

"Turn the damn light off," she managed to rasp out, her throat in desperate need of moisture.

"You're awake! Oh thank god," Jacob breathed and she felt him put down his head next to her waist, on whatever bed she was laying in. She smiled weakly, lifting her hand to stroke his hair, digging her fingers into his soft locks.

Hearing a light-switch being flicked she tried opening her eyes again. It was still a little too bright, but she managed. Blinking harshly a few times, her eyelids settled for being half open for now.

"I feel like shit," she groaned. She kept petting Jacob and she could have sworn she heard him purr.

"Well, your ribs, lung and kidney should be okay now, but I'm afraid your pelvis is going to take a few hours," Carlisle stepped up to the right side of the bed with a slight smile.

"Oh, just tha- wait... what happened to my pelvis?" she winced. She knew for a fact that a person kind of needed their pelvis for walking, sitting, anything really. And she was kind of wanting to get out of the bed soon. As in within five minutes.

"Talae, you were hit with a rock of at least a 100 pounds, going at least 40 miles an hour. Your entire right hip was shattered and your lung was punctured. I managed to set the biggest pieces of bone in your hip in place and take out the insignificant ones, as we've seen proof that you have the ability to regenerate bone, and your ribs have been set and your lung is fine now. But the hip is still going to take a while. Oh, and you're going to have some new scars."

Her right hand immediately flew for her hip and the other wrapped around her ribcage, and that was when she noticed she was in nothing but undies and the tank-top she'd worn under her clothes earlier. Thank god for quilts.

"Do not fret, I am a complete professional", he chuckled when he saw her blush and draw the quilt up over her torso and crossing her arms over her chest. "Do you want me to call your parents?" he asked, clasping his hands behind his back.

"My parents? What time is it anyway? And where am I?" she suddenly had a lot of questions.

Jacob finally lifted his head, "It's nearly midnight and you're at the Cullen's."

A slight panic gripped her, "They don't know where I am... damnit. Where's my phone?"

Reaching for a metallic lump on the end-table next to the bed, he dangled the remains of her meager cell phone in front of her, "Ruined. Along with your jeans, shirt and rain jacket."

She lifted her head and gave Carlisle a pleading, puppy-eyed look. He laughed quietly under his breath before answering her unasked question, "Alright, I will go call them, but as your doctor, I will have to insist that you must stay overnight. I will not risk moving you now."

"Thank you," she breathed in relief. He smiled one last time before exiting the room.

As soon as the door slid close Jacob's lips was on hers in desperate need. His hands were cupping the back of her head, tangling in her hair as he hovered over her, as gentle as it was urgent. Her hands wrapped around his wrists to support the upwards angle of her head, and as surprised as she was, she was eager to respond.

"I was so worried about you," he whispered when they finally pulled apart, resting his forehead against hers, a frustrated frown on his face.

She smiled awkwardly and moved her hand to caress his jaw. He leaned into her touch with closed eyes, his breath still irregular.

"I'm okay," she tried assuring him.

His eyes opened and looked right into hers, "But you weren't. You were bleeding and broken and then you passed out in my arms and I couldn't... I couldn't help you," his eyes were glazing over as he spoke, the memories fresh in his head and still haunting him. He lowered his head and took her hands in his.

"Hey, look at me, I'm okay," she forced him to look her in the eye, tipping his chin when she'd wrestled her hand free, "I'm alive, I'm okay."

He didn't say anything, but the desperate edge in his look faded somewhat. Instead he brought her hand up to his mouth and pressed her knuckles to his lips for a long time while she gently stroked through his hair with the other.

When she felt that he was stable enough, she shifted her body slightly, making him let go of her hand and sit down in the chair he'd previously occupied. She slid the tank-top up over her belly-button to examine the scars Carlisle had mentioned. The one on her hip was mostly healed, the edges around the metal staples that followed the whole of the slightly curved scar were the only places looking red and raw as the skin tried to heal around the metal. It was a few inches below her somewhat protruding hip bone. She didn't know why Carlisle had bothered 'clipping' her up, maybe it was just for good measure. Though it wasn't like she had anything against scars, they were just a part of who you were. Like freckles. Painfully attained freckles.

"It's not that bad," she shrugged her shoulders, fingering one of the metal staples carefully. She felt slightly like a piece of paper for a moment.

"It shouldn't be there at all," he sighed, playing absent-mindedly with the quilt as his gaze fell to where her fingers toyed around.

"Oh hush," she shushed and smiled at him, trying to ease the tension, "did you get them?"

His face fell again and he burrowed his face in equally part thigh and quilt, "Ngh, no." His voice was muffled and he sounded so miserable she almost whimpered.

"But... they were just two," she frowned, waiting patiently for an explanation.

He turned his head so his mouth was free to speak unhindered, "the female had some sort of camouflaging ability. One second they were in front of us, crystal clear, then she grabs the big one's hand and they're gone. Poof. Thin air. Then they turn up 400 yards ahead and suddenly they're at the cliffs and we lost them completely. I'm so sorry Tee."

The last part of his sentence muffled out as he turned his face back down, mumbling incoherently to himself.

"Jacob stop it, it's not your fault," she said firmly. She continued to stroke his hair, willing some of her apparent and surprising calm over on him. Why was he freaking out, she was the one with the new scars, and frequently broken bones. Well, one of us has to stay sane.

"Yes it is," he muttered, "I'm Alpha and I can't even my own imprint from getting hurt over and over."

She smacked the back of his head, making his head jerk up from its lying position, "Ow!"

"Now you listen to me Jacob Black," she raised a lecturing finger at him, "you are a strong and more than capable leader and no one has ever thought otherwise. Fighting leeches isn't easy work, and no one said it would be. If it was, we wouldn't be here. Yes, it comes with high risks. But we all know what we signed up for and getting hurt once in a while is inevitable. It comes with the territory. So don't you dare go blaming it all on yourself, taking a burden on your own shoulders that is all of ours to carry. Do you understand me?"

He looked defeated, being told off like that. But it set his mind at ease, if only a little. At least she wasn't blaming him.

"Yes ma'am," he ducked his head in submission.

"Good boy," she chuckled, scratching behind his ear. He snorted but didn't seem to mind otherwise.

"Did anyone else get hurt?" she asked, almost dreading the answer.

"Yeah. Nothing serious though. Hunter got his shoulder dislocated, and Embry broke a wrist. That's about it," he shrugged, hands back at playing with the quilt.

"Thank the gods," sighing, she settled back against the pillows she was propped up by, wiggling into a comfortable position. Finally having some sense of peace of mind, she took in her surroundings. It was a small-ish room, one she hadn't been in before. Probably a guest-room. A large window with red drapes occupied one wall, the deco elegant, but simple. She was lying in a queen sized bed with lots of fancy pillows at her back. A dresser stood besides the door, the bed sided by two twin end-tables and a large potted plant stood in a corner. That was about it. Nothing fancy compared to the rest of the house.

There was a knock at the door and in came Carlisle followed by Leah, who looked relieved when she saw the small smile on Talae's face, and Embry holding a glass of water in his hand.

"You! I swear, if you ever give me a scare like that again, I'm going to strangle you!" Leah strode to her other side before huffing and hugging her a bit forcefully.

"Calm down woman, I'm alive aren't I?" she grumbled, ducking her head when Leah sent her a glare.

"Your parents are on their way," Carlisle smiled, still standing in the doorway. Talae opened her mouth, but before she got a word out he spoke again, "and they are bringing a change of clothes for you."

She grinned appreciatively at him, "Thank you."

"You are welcome, call me if you need anything," he nodded with a smile and left the room once again, closing the door gently behind him.

"Here," Embry held out the glass in his hand as he went to stand by Leah.

"Oh just what I needed, thank you Embry," she smiled warmly at him, taking the glass in both hands and eagerly gulping the contents down. Her throat instantly felt so much better.

She reached out and squeezed his hand, trying to convey as much emotion as possible in the meager gesture. She was truly grateful that he'd found her, kept her safe and comforted her earlier.

He squeezed back, smiling at her with a single nod of his head, "You're welcome."

"What the hell happened?" Leah asked, crossing her arms and cocking her hip.

"I... give me a sec," Talae frowned, the events were a little blurry, "I was driving home from Sunday's. A deer ran in front of me and I almost crashed. When I'd gotten control over the bike back, well, that's kind of a blank spot. I remember waking up at the bottom of the tree and that it hurt all over. That's when they stepped out from the shadows. I think they thought I was just a normal human, maybe their dinner, at first. Then they caught my scent and... They said something about 'having found them' just after Embry showed up," she looked at Embry for confirmation.

He nodded, "I remember that too. It was weird. Kind of like those guys we chased down when Tee first joined. I think I saw that 'V' emblem on the girl."

An angry frown found its way to Jacob's face, "those guys are coming through here way too often for it to be coincidence."

Leah nodded in agreement, "something is definitely going on, and it ain't good."

"Sam and I talked with Carlisle after that one time, and he agrees that it was weird for them to be on this turf. But they hadn't contacted the Cullens, so it's got nothing to do with them," Jacob sighed frustrated.

"They've been after us both times," Talae pointed out, fiddling with her hands in her lap.

"Which is even more concerning," Jacob groaned, putting his head in his hands as his elbows rested on the bed.

"We'll just have to be careful and kill them off as they come along," Embry shrugged.

"Aren't they like the royal family of vamps?" Talae questioned as she slowly realized the consequences of Embry's proposal.

"Yeah, so?" he asked, shifting his weight to his other foot.

"So, I don't think they appreciate us killing their precious members. Worst case scenario, the whole coven shows up and obliterate us" Leah snapped, punching his shoulder, sending him stumbling.

"Ow. Right, that might be a problem" he rubbed the now sore spot and sent Leah a glare.

"Well, they'll just have to deal if they want to pick a fight" Jacob grumbled, "until we find a more permanent and safe solution."

"Agreed," Talae nodded, picking at her fingernails as Leah and Embry concurred.

"And you, you're not allowed to patrol alone anymore," Jacob eyed his imprint. It seemed he'd regained some confidence in the presence of his subordinates.

Her mouth flew open and her brow frowned in disbelief in a most shocked expression and he could tell this was going to be difficult, "what?"

Leah rolled her eyes as Embry snickered teasingly. With a single look and a jerk of his head, Jacob sent them both out of the room.

"Don't back down Tee," Leah smirked before she closed the door.

Talae crossed her arms tightly, looking more than moderately pissed, waiting for him to explain himself, or at least say something else stupid so she could blow up in his face.

"You heard me," he said calmly, leaning back in his seat, also crossing his arms.

If she hadn't been recuperating she'd have tackled him to the ground right about now, "what the hell Jacob!"

"I'd hate to repeat myself," he said a little too calmly.

She yelled out in frustration and tried to keep from shaking too badly, "you can't do that! I'm as capable as anyone and you know it!"

"Then why do you keep getting hurt?" he barked back.

Giving him a truly evil stink-eye, she slowly leaned forward, hissing, "I've blacked out twice and broken wrists don't count." It was true, she'd broken a few bones over the months, and most were completely unpredictable outcomes of situations that weren't really her responsibility, or fault. And they'd heal within minutes without having to be set.

"You know damn well that if Embry had been even a mile more away he wouldn't have heard you scream and they would have killed you. I'm not risking that again," he spoke, calmly and with authority in that last bit, tilting his head slightly upwards in challenge.

"You don't know that," she spat, "besides, I'm fine now aren't I?"

He sighed angrily and started again, "I've made myself clear, you-"

"JACOB, I AM NOT WEAK!" she bellowed as her temper snapped completely, slamming her fist down on the end table next to her. It broke instantly, one leg splintering totally, sending a porcelain lamp and a vase of flowers crashing to the floor where they smash into hundreds of pieces, the sound ringing through the room in the silence followed by her outburst.

She panted heavily, her gaze piercing through him, staring at nothing in particular, the water from the vase trickled across the floor, flower petals everywhere. Her teeth were bared in a silent sneer, every muscle and nerve in her body was on high alert, her ears ringing. The fact that she was comfortable with being a shape-shifter, embracing the animal within her, caused her to be more in tune with her feral side in human form, making it unnecessary for her to phase out of anger. Luckily.

He looked at her wide-eyed, mouth slightly open and his eyebrows nearly reached his hairline, unable to come up with any words useful in this situation. When she had screamed at him her pupils had constricted drastically, her eyes gleaming with ferocity, and her canine had looked dangerously long and sharp, her hair already messy and wild. For a second he thought she was going to maul him like a wild creature. She had looked completely feral.

Some small part of him was extremely turned on.

As the silence prolonged, her breathing became slower, her eyes returned to their original shape and her lips slowly eased down over her exposed incisors.

She gasped quietly as her gaze refocused on him. For a moment she looked bewildered, then she remembered why she'd exploded on him and her glare returned.

"I am not weak," she growled, leaning back against the pillows and fisting the cool material of the quilt in her hands. She felt slightly bad about breaking the table and the vase and lamp; it had honestly been a complete accident, an irrational act fuelled by fury and ire. But she was fairly sure they wouldn't decorate a guestroom with priceless artifacts, and she would of course pay for it.

He felt totally deflated and couldn't remember what made his opinion the right one. He did, however, catch on to why she had erupted on him.

"No, you're not," he spoke softly, not ever wanting an earful like that again, "I know you're not weak."

"Then why do you treat me like I am?" she snapped through gritted teeth, "Have I not proved my value? Do you really think I'm so helpless?"

His eyebrow frowned in regret and he sighed, "No, I don't think you're helpless."

"Then what is it?" she was getting impatient really fast, she wanted a real answer and she wanted it now.

"Because..." he trailed off, not finding the right words.

"Because what Jacob?" her anger was rising again and he had to diffuse it fast if he wanted to avoid another shout-down.

"Because I would rather have all of my bones broken repeatedly, than see pain in your eyes ever again, okay!" he shouted, jolting up from the chair, tipping it backwards and sending it clunking to the floor, throwing his arms out in a surrendering gesture.

He stalked over to the window, huffing as he crossed his arms and stared out into the night.

"I don't want to lose you before I even get a chance to live with you," he murmured, rubbing his jaw.

The glare fell away from her face and the sheer tone of his voice tugged on her heartstrings. All the anger she'd harboured drained and she suddenly felt very rotten.

"What we do isn't risk free, I know that. I know people can and will get hurt. That's why I have to do everything in my power to keep you safe," he said softly, keeping his eyes on the scenery outside the window, unmoving.

Without a word she gently kicked the quilt away and pushed herself up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. Her hip ached terribly and she sucked in a pained breath.

He turned when he heard her shuffling around, "Talae, don't..."

She didn't listen however, and he got the feeling he shouldn't push it.

Aware of the sharp, pointed pieces of broken glass and porcelain, she gracefully stepped around the mess she'd created and padded barefooted up behind him. He turned his head so he could see her out of the corner of his eye, but made no other movement. For a long moment she just stood there, still as a statue. With a soft sigh her head dropped, her forehead coming to rest in between his shoulder blades. Her eyes fluttered closed and she inhaled his scent deeply. Timidly, she brought her arms up and wrapped them around his midsection, pressing her body flush against his. He let her take her time, enjoying how she grasped him desperately after a while, clinging to the grey t-shirt he wore.

"I'm sorry," she whispered before burying her face in his back.

He took a hold of her wrist and pried them off of him. She let her arms fall limply to her sides as he turned around to face her. Grabbing her gently by her bare shoulders, he gazed into her eyes as she lifted her head to meet his. For the longest time they just stood and stared at each other.

Jacob tenderly drew her into his embrace, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and burying his face in her hair, breathing in her fragrance.

"No, I'm sorry," he murmured, his breath fanning her ear. Bracing her hands on his chest, she could feel the subtle muscle beneath and was suddenly very aware of how little clothing she was actually wearing.

Slowly she rubbed her hands in elusive circles and they both felt the change of atmosphere in the room. His breath became deep by her ear as she scrapped her blunt nails leisurely down his abs through the shirt. She bit her lower lip in excitement, loving how these small touches were enough to change his demeanour.

One of his hands travelled up her shoulder, immersing in her hair and cupping the back of her head as his mouth came dangerously close to her ear. She let out a strangled moan as he bit the helix of her ear gently, continuing down the side of her neck, planting sweet kisses and nibbling on her skin as he went toward the juncture of her neck and shoulder. She mewled and couldn't stop herself from digging her nails into his ribs as he planted a bite there, her knees going weak from pleasure.

"Ow, fuck," she groaned as her hip protested against the pressure she was laying on it. She tried shifting her weight to the other side, but it didn't help much.

Hot and bothered in these conditions was far from optimal and she bumped her head on his chest in a frustrated sigh.

He only chuckled and kissed the sweet spot below her ear, before leading her back to the bed and fluffing her pillows. Muttering a 'thank you' she got herself into bed with little to no help and settled back against the now puffy cushions.

Picking up the chair, he sat down and took her hand, caressing it with his thumb, "you win. You can patrol all you want."

She snorted unamused, "damn right I win. But, I do promise I'll be more careful, if you promise not to freak every time I almost die."

He pushed out a dry laugh, smirking at her, "whatever you say darling. And for the record, you're scary when you're mad."

"Hah! Hahaha-aow ow ow," she laughed until her hip complained, secretly cursing the stupid thing.

There was a knock on the door soon after, and Emmett's big head appeared, "Yo, so uhm, heard something breaking, figured you too were having a spat or some-."

She weakly threw a pillow at his face, but he easily avoided it and gave her big smirk instead, "Hah, miss!"

"Shut up, I'm impaired," she grumbled as he came into the room. He was holding a dustpan in one hand along with a trash bag, "Esme sent you to clean up, huh?"

"Yeah, well, try not to break anything else, 'cause I ain't cleaning it up," he rolled his eyes and began picking up pieces of broken glass and wood.

Talae shot Jacob a look. "What?" he asked, looking befuddled. She jerked her head towards the mess. He was about to argue, but she shot him an even meaner look and he gave up, bending down to help Emmett with a sigh.

With two men working, the mess was quickly dealt with and Emmett exited the room as fast as he came and Jacob sat back down, playing with her fingers.

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><p><strong>And there it is! I almost have 2 full chapters ready to go! So, review a lot if you want them soon :) Ta-ta!<strong>


	14. Chapter 13

**Hey again guys! So, here's the next update. Thanks to all who reviewed the last part, you are awesome! Thanks to by beta too, A.J Scarlet you rock! This part is sorta short, but the next one will be a bit longer, I think. Also, how do you feel about lemons? 'Cause one might be coming up!**

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><p>Chapter 13<p>

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><p>They talked for a few minutes before her parents burst through the door, storming to her side, fussing and worried, and crying in her mother's case. She assured them that she was alright and they thanked Carlisle when he entered the room after them.<p>

"Oh, don't mention it," he smiled, "we gladly help out when we can."

Her father shook his hand, but her mother had to go the extra mile and hug him with tears streaming down her face. He padded her lightly on the back until she let him go and settle for stroking Talae's hair.

"Mom, my scalp's getting numb," she whined, swatting her mother's hand away.

"Oh my baby," the waterworks started again as she hugged her daughter with excessive force, sobbing into her hair.

She heard Jacob chuckling in the background and sent him a desperate "help me!"-look.

"Mom, I'm fine!" she tried to no avail.

"How did this even happen?" her dad was somewhere between anger and concern.

"A pair of vampires ambushed her on her way home, sir," Jacob said, getting out of the chair.

"She never got this hurt when she was on her own, shouldn't she be safer with more teammates?" Will questioned, getting more on the anger side.

Talae had to speak up before her dad started blaming Jacob and the pack, "Dad calm down, it's not his fault. I'm the one who didn't catch the scent."

"And you're the one with the broken hip too! You know maybe moving here was a mistake-" he rubbed his forehead in frustration.

"No! Dad, stop it!" just hearing him say that brought tears to her eyes, "coming here is the best thing that ever happened to me!"

The frown disappeared from his face as he looked at her watering eyes and it hurt him too much to be the one that caused it, "I'm sorry honey, you're right. Just, be careful okay?"

"Yeah, I know. Believe me, I don't enjoy being in this position," she sighed in relief.

"Okay," he eyed his wife, "maybe we should be getting home."

"Oh, okay," she sniffled, finally letting go of her daughter, who made a big deal out of taking in a deep breath of air, "Oh hush you. You're sure you'll be fine? And-and you'll be home tomorrow?"

"_Yes_ mom, now go, you have work in the morning," she rolled her eyes and tsk'ed.

"Oh alright," her mom huffed and kissed her forehead once, "There's your clothes, I even packed your teddy-bear..." That brought on another swell of tears as Will dropped the duffle bag in his hand to the floor. She wailed, seeking comfort in her husband's arms.

"See ya tomorrow kiddo, we'll call the school and tell them you're sick. Feel better," her dad ruffled her hair and kissed her forehead too before ushering her mother out. Esme stood smiling in the doorway and followed them to the door.

"Alright, Talae would you lift up your shirt please, I have to check the cut,"Carlisle smiled. She sniffed the air and sure enough, he smelled slightly like lemony soap. At least his hands were clean. Not very warm though...

"Fine," she sighed, pushing down the quilt a bit and then lifting up her tank top.

He rolled up the sleeves of his fancy wine-red sweater and started probing the cut, "have you been up?"

She blushed slightly, "yeah... sorry."

"Oh, it's okay, some of the clips are just a bit skewed. Well, now that you have been up and about, how did it go?"

"I could stand for somewhere in between five and ten minutes before it ached too much. It's not aching anymore though."

"Hmm, seems your healing ability isn't quiet as fast as the others," he looked deep in thought for a second before smiling, "but that doesn't matter, it is still considerably faster than that of a normal person's. You should be healed up with no means in the morning."

"Thanks doc."

"Alright, I am going to take them out now, would you mind lying down please?" he grabbed a machine-type thing off the end-table. She was guessing it was for removing staples.

"Great, yeah sure," she mumbled, scooting her ass further down the bed. Jacob took his previous seat in the bedside chair and held her hand. She wasn't sure why, until she felt Carlisle apply the staple remover to the first one and press the handle.

"Motherfucker!" she hissed, crushing Jacob's hand. He flinched, but kept quiet.

"My apologies, I should have warned you that it might hurt," Carlisle smiled apologetically, but continued to remove the clips.

Not every one of them hurt, but most sure did. At one point she thought she heard a pop in Jacob's hand, but he didn't say anything. So eight staples and two minutes later she had a curved, fully healed scar with dots on the side where the clips had been.

"Alright, that should be it," said the doc, gathering the bowl the staples had been discarded in, along with the staple remover, "now I'm sure you'd like to rest, if you need sleepwear I'm sure you could borrow some sweatpants of Esme's, or a t-shirt of Emmett's maybe?"

"Nah, I'll be fine like this, but... you wouldn't have anything to eat?" she smiled sheepishly, rubbing the scar gently. Damn, it was _itchy_.

He chuckled, "I'll put Esme on it right away."

"Oh no no, don't wait _wait!" _she tried, but he was already out the door.

A few seconds after Leah and Embry re-stormed the room.

"Tee, I've gotta go home and get some sleep, but I'll be back tomorrow if you're still here," Leah said, hugging her with one arm.

"Yeah, same here. I glad you're alright though," Embry grinned. She laughed and ruffled his hair when he hugged her after Leah.

"See you later guys," Talae smiled and waved as they walked out the door, leaving it open.

"You should go home and get some sleep too, you must be exhausted," she said, reaching out to stroke Jacob's cheek.

"Pff, as if," he snorted, "I'm staying right here until Carlisle is letting you go."

"Jake, you need to sleep," she tried.

He shrugged, "as far as I'm concerned I can sleep right here." He stood up and did a roll-jump over her, landing on her other side, facing her with a big cheeky grin plastered on his face.

She raised her eyebrow at him, "you really think so, huh?"

"Oh come on Tee," he pouted, looking like a kicked puppy, "Pwetty pwease?"

"Alright already, quit looking so pathetic," she laughed, smushing his face with her open hand. He kissed her cheek before stealing some of her pillows and making himself comfortable on top of the quilt. He kicked off his sneakers and relaxed for the first time in several hours.

Soon Esme walked in with a tray of fruits, toast, eggs and bacon. She was greeted like a queen and Talae consumed the meal in record time, only sparing Jacob an apple and a single piece of bacon. He wasn't happy about it, but what can a man do? He could have just asked for it when she did, but no. Too bad.

After that Jacob walked out with the tray and she threw the majority of the pillows at her back to the floor, pledging to make the bed properly when she woke up in the morning.

She was in the process of snuggling under the quilt when Jacob walked back in and closed the door behind him. He walked to the bed, shedding his t-shirt in the process, revealing his toned, sculpted torso. Now, Talae wasn't a girl who put it all into looks, or had preferences. But dang, that boy had a body on him. She didn't even try to contain the staring, she would have failed anyhow.

"Stop staring, you'll burn a hole in me," he smirked, standing besides the bed.

"Just come over here so I can touch you," she said, totally not giving a crap that he was teasing her.

He chuckled, turned off the single light left on so the only thing illuminating the room was the moon, and kicked off his shorts too, before getting in beside her. She was on him before he'd even pulled the quilt over him, running her hand down his stomach as she settled into his side. He pulled the cover up to his hips then let her snuggle into the crook of his shoulder, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer. He was amused at the way she seemed dazzled by his abs and pecks. Maybe it was a girl thing. Or a Talae thing. Apparently her hip didn't hurt too much.

Though he certainly did enjoy the light touch of her fingertips on his skin. No expanse of bare flesh was spared from her exploring hands. When she ghosted over his third rib he _giggled_. She looked up at him with a grin and did it again. This time he laughed, "Stop it!"

"You're ticklish!" she laughed, doing it again and again until he grabbed her hand and forced her to stop, "oh you're no fun." She stuck her tongue out at him in defiance.

"I don't think we want to get into who's ticklish here," he began, dragging his fingers over the curve of her uninjured hip. She squirmed and promised to stop if he stopped, so he did, chuckling as she resettled into his side.

She didn't stop running her hands over his chest though. If it wasn't for her 'near death'-experience and the injured hip, he'd be all over her too. As it was, he was having a hard time _not_ reacting to her touch.

Her hands sneaked their way below his belly-button, drawing circles around his hipbone.

"Your skin is so yummy," she mumbled, having closed her eyes quiet a while ago, relying on her sense of touch to guide her hands.

"... _Yummy_? Sunday is rubbing off on you," he chuckled.

The rumbling in his chest was _so _soothing, that even though her hip ached the slightest, she was going to stay put for as long as she could.

She could feel his breath quicken for every half inch her digits slowly prowled lower. Hearing him moan when she brushed over the beginning of that feathery trail of hair that lead to paradise, her insides flared with mischief, satisfaction, and desire. Biting her lip, she alternated between twirling her fingertips and splaying them out across the area above his boxers.

"Mmh... If you keep doing that... " he trailed off, moaning as her fingers went _just_ below the rim of the boxers.

She stretched her neck and licked the spot below his ear, eliciting another moan, "... then what?"

He growled and pounced on her, rolling her unto her back, mindful of the injured hip, as he balanced over her with one leg in between hers. Being deliberately slow, he brushed her inky black mane away from her neck, and starting with the rim of her ear to the swell of her shoulder, he trailed hot kisses and tender bites, drawing out several delighted gasps and hungry moans from her.

Tangling one hand in his hair and the other raking her nails down his stomach, she was quite the happy camper. His hand trailed down her upper arm, fingers splaying over her ribs before playing into the curve of her waist and drawing circles around her hip. All the time his mouth didn't leave her neck.

"Oh, god," she moaned as his hand made its way down to her thigh, "now if _you_ keep doing _that_..."

She felt him smile against her skin and smirked. His hand, unfortunately, left her thigh and braced his weight instead as he hovered over her on his forearms. Their noses were just barely touching and he smiled one of those brilliant, toothy smiles that she absolutely loved. Infectious too, because she soon found herself grinning like a loon too.

"This is such a bad idea," he chuckled, pressing a chaste kiss to her lips.

"Oh yeah? Then why does it feel so good?" she purred, raking her nails gently across his scalp, watching as his eyes close in bliss and a breathless moan escaped him.

"You, mmh, are a wicked, _wicked_ woman," he groaned before kissing her deeply. His tongue flicked over her bottom lip and she eagerly let him in, engaging in a passionate game of tongue-wrestling.

When they broke away for a desperate breath of air and he rested his forehead against hers, looking into her half open eyes, "Are you _sure_ you want to continue down this road? I mean, think of where we are."

She knew what he meant, but her mind was just a tad clouded with desire, keeping her from thinking straight. But who could blame her? One look into those gorgeous, chocolate eyes, one glance at that sultry mouth, _one single _peek at those abs, those arms, _that chest_, and she was a goner.

"Ugh, you're right," she whimpered, not believing the words coming out of her mouth.

"Believe me, this is one time I hate being right," he chuckled, rolling back down besides her. She immediately snuggled into the crook of his shoulder again, wordlessly claiming it as her favourite spot in the world.

Drawing lazy circles on his chest, she let the events of the day seep in, and suddenly felt very tired. Yawning, she felt Jacob hug her a little closer, softly running his fingers through her hair. A satisfied mewl crossed her lips, loving the feel of his fingertips. He let out a light laugh and kissed the top of her head, "Goodnight Tee."

"Goodnight Jake."

Falling asleep like that in Jacob's arms gave her the most satisfied feeling she'd ever had. It was like the last piece of a puzzle was finally put in its place. That was the last thought she had before falling asleep with a smile on her lips.

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><p>On a small island outside the coast of Washington, called Destruction Island, stood an old lighthouse. Old, but only recently put out of commission. The island itself was deserted of human life, turned into a nature reserve when the lighthouse closed down. This was a good thing, considering the two temporary guests that now occupied the structure. Human in form, but in no other sense of the word. The night was quiet out there, on the island. The waves of the ocean crashing into the cliffs and the occasional bird calling were the only sounds coming out of the darkness.<p>

"Do you think we should contact Aro?" came a soft, childish voice, ringing like bells throughout the shadows. A girl who looked no older than 14 stepped up to one of the panorama windows lining the top floor of the lighthouse, where the light itself resided. Her face was young and had a touch of innocence about it. Which sadly disappeared with one look into her crimson eyes. Depravity and malevolence lived there and as the moonlight shone through the thick glass, illuminating her face framed by pin straight blonde hair that barely reached her shoulders, it was clear as day what monster lived behind the facade.

"Not yet," responded another voice, this one deep with the maturity of manhood and heavily accented, indicating a heritage from Eastern Europe. "We need a certain strategy with these beasts. Aro is not keen on failure", he warned, shaking a soaking wet trench coat. He hung it over an old dusty chair and ran a hand through the short straws of milky white hair on his head.

"Oh alright," the girl sighed and turned away from the view. She sat on the meager bench lining the rim of the small room and rung out the water in her hair, "I hate rain."

"I know, _miý anhel_," he said softly, sitting down beside her, the bench creaking under his weight. She turned her back to him and folded her hands in her lap. He kissed the top of her head before meticulously running his cold fingers through her hair, untangling the knots.

"Did you see the look on that female's face?" she asked, a playful tone lacing her words, "Strong. Defiant to the end. I now understand Aro's reasoning".

"No play Zoya, _my perebuvayemo pid zamovlennya_," the man warned, the crinkles of age on his face deepening as his voice hinted of an incoming reprimand.

"You are no fun Fedir, _burkotun_," she pouted and crossed her arms as he started to braid her hair into twin pigtails.

"Behave, child," he smirked, pulling on her hair. She protested, but did not move otherwise. As he finished braiding, he pulled off two pieces of satin tie from his wrist and tied two little bows to hold each braid in place, and leaned down to kiss the first vertebrae of her spine.

She sighed and leaned back into his chest as his arms wrapped around her, "this will be no easy, or short, assignment."

Silence settled easily into the room. Far away a thunder-storm raged, coming closer to the island, flash of lightning igniting the horizon. Dawn was far away, but the stillness of the dark was welcome as the two beings settled for a restless night with no dreams and no comfort other than each other's icy embrace.

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><p><strong>Alright! So, when Zoya and Fedir talk in cursive, they are talking in ukranian (their native language) and I don't know ANYTHING in ukranian, so Google Translate have been in use, yes. And the translations might not mean much because, let's face it, GT is <em>not<em> that good. But you aren't missing important plot, don't worry.**

**So, R&R!**


	15. Chapter 14

**Hey guys and girls! (Probably mostly girls) So, here's the long awaited chapter! Thank you so much for your reviews, and I apologize: I only just recently learned that not responding to reviews are considered rude, so SORRY to all! I will try and respond to every review I get from now on!**

**Also, I had to cut this chapter in half (kinda), so depending on the response this one gets, I'll post the other half sooner or later :) **

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 14<p>

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><p>"So prom's not too far away now", Sunday said as she and Talae walked down the hallway towards the cafeteria. Students and teachers were crowding the halls, most of them heading the same way as the girls.<p>

"Yeah, I know. It sucks", Talae smirked, knowing full well how excited Sunday was for the yearly event, what with being on the prom committee and all.

The blonde girl gasped and stared at her wide-eyed, "how dare you! Prom is a sacred event in high school. And you _are_ going."

Now it was Talae's turn to gasp, "Nuh-uh! I'm not going, nope, no way dude. Not happening." She was shaking her head furiously as she ducked around a group of teachers standing in the middle of the hall.

"Yes you are! And you're going to love it too!" Sunday insisted as she linked her arm through Talae's when they entered the lunch-room and went to stand in line.

She groaned, knowing there was no way around it, "but, but... I don't have a date, hah, there!"

"What about your _boyfriend_, Mr. Tall, Dark and Hunky?" Sunday teased, making kissy-faces at her, laughing when Talae shoved her lightly.

"Fine, I'll ask him," she grumbled and Sunday giggled at her.

When they got their food they sat down with Candy, Jennifer, Jack and Caleb. Sunday sat down next to Caleb and kissed his cheek. They'd been 'official' for at least a month now, but Talae had a feeling that Sunday was keeping him at a distance. He hadn't even been over at her house yet, and she had a feeling he wasn't going to.

But that didn't stop them from 'discreetly' making out at the table, and even though she did everything to avert her eyes as they sucked each others face, it did remind her of Jacob.

Over the last month, since before she broke her hip, Talae and Jacob had been getting to know each other in the old fashioned way. He'd taken her on dates, more out of tradition and obligation than anything, really: their first date revealed that neither of them had any 'talent' for dating. She'd felt awkward dressing up in her nice sun-dress and sitting in a fancy restaurant, trying not to scarf down the meager portions as Jacob had a hard time sitting still in the movie-theatre and not taking off the head of any guy that looked at her.

After that they'd agreed to drop the traditional dating-game. The official moment of them becoming boyfriend/girlfriend was when her parents had asked them one day hanging out and watching TV. They'd looked at each other and nodded 'yes', not really getting it when her mother started crying tears of joy and insisted that Billy and Jacob came over for an 'family dinner'. Jacob and her dad had the awkward dad to boyfriend-talk.

It wasn't that they didn't care. They just didn't care about official titles. They knew that they'd be mates for life, so they didn't waste time of labels. What mattered was the time they spent together. And boy did they spend time together. Not just in the make-out department, but in general she found out that life with Jacob at her side was easy, right. They were practically two peas in a pod.

"You're thinking about him, aren't you?" Sunday giggled at her, knocking the dreamy-look off her face. Talae shook her head and looked around, seeing student beginning to walk back towards the classrooms, signalling the end of lunch. At the end of that thought the bell rang and she gathered her trash and stood up with Sunday, picking up her bag.

"No..." she tried not to smile like a fool as she dumped her garbage in the bin, walking towards their next class.

"Liar," Sunday chuckled, "you're so in love with that boy that it's painful to watch".

_What a weird thing so say_, Talae thought, giving her friend a scrutinizing look. Sunday just shrugged and smiled as she linked their arms again and dragged the black-haired girl down the hall.

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><p><em>She was running through the forest that covered the lower parts of a mountain, snow littering around fifty percent of the ground and tree tops. It was right before dawn, not a soul moving as she tore through the woods on two legs.<em>

_Was she running from something? What was it? Or was she chasing something? Was she in danger? Or was it play? _

_The forest held no answers for her so she kept running up the mountain side, the density of the trees lessening as the altitude rose. Taking a quick look down her body she noticed she was wearing a pair of too torn jeans and the rain coat that got ruined that night when the rock had knocked her off the bike. She frowned at the bizarre attire and couldn't remember why she was wearing it. _

_As the foliage became more scattered a flash of light, or rather, a glint caught her eye up ahead. Her nostrils flared uncomfortably as the familiar sickly sweet scent invaded the air around her, urging her to go faster. She was definitely chasing something. _

_Her bare feet flew across the snow ridden ground as she closed in on the source of the scent. Darting past the tree-line she spotted the figure of a man, standing in the snow with his back to her. She skidded to a stop at a safe distance, spraying snow as her fists clenched, her body hunching over into a defensive stance, a growl rumbling all the way down from her gut. _

_He turned around at the sound of her threat, his cape swishing in a gust of air. _

_"_You_," she snarled as a smirk grazed the leech's chiselled face. His white, spiky hair stood stiff against the wind, his red eyes gleaming with malice and deceit._

_"_Pryvit_, little puppy", he said in that heavy eastern-European accent, taking a rather formal bow, "remember me?"_

_Of course she remembered. She had scars to constantly remind her. She saw no trace of his female companion though, putting her even more on edge as her ears tried to pick up any sign of the little monster without her eyes straying from the big one._

_"No worry, little one, I am alone," he laughed, rubbing his gloved hands together, "But, not sure you are any safer." _

_She phased instinctively as his shadow somehow lifted itself off the ground, hovering by his shoulder as a hunched, inky slither of darkness. It rattled as it inhaled deep breath after deep breath, gloving white orbs for eyes. _

_The white wolf growled threateningly at the monsters in front of her, a small twinge of fear taking foothold in her spirit as the shadow set its eyes on her. _

What the hell is going on?_ She thought and snapped her jaws and rolling her tongue between her bared teeth as the grim apparition slowly started floating towards her. _

_She was about to charge when a dark, thick fog rolled down from the mountain, covering the landscape in a few seconds. Snapping at the air and sniffing around thoroughly, she was trying to figure out what the hell was happening. She could just skim the outline of the big vampire's hulking body as he hadn't moved an inch, but the shadow was nowhere to be seen._

Shit shit shit_, she chanted nervously, whipping her head around trying to spot the damned thing as her whole body tensed and prepared for an attack. Something moved in her peripheral sight, but when she turned to look at it, nothing was there. Then she could hear it's breathing, that ragged, deathly sound echoed all around her, coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. _

"_Are puppy scared?" the vampires voice rang through the fog. _

_She barked and snarled loudly, the hair on her back and neck bristled and her ears were flat against her skull._

_"No? Brave girl", he chuckled, clapping his hands mockingly. _

_A raging blizzard started at the blink of an eye, making her squint against the onslaught of frozen water as the scenery became blurry and hazy. _

_There was movement in the darkness around her. Before she could react or locate the culprit, something lashed out at her with talons of steel, or so it felt like. She let out a shrill whine as her legs gave out under her. The snow surrounding her slowly stained red as a huge gash appeared on her hind thigh. _

_It was like something burned at the wound, making it hurt more than it normal would. Was it poison? Had it poisoned her? Her breath was coming out in short gasps as the pain increased. _Shit shit shit. _It wasn't healing. _

Swish, swish.

_A loud howl ripped its way out of her as the talons struck her again, this time in her shoulder, the blood spraying violently from the deep wound. The fear building in her mind almost crippled her as she had no clue where her attacker was, or _what_ is was for that matter. She whimpered feeling the anxiety and terror claw at her._

I'm going to die here, _the though sent cold shivers down her spine. None of her brothers or sisters answered her, confirming that she was indeed alone in this fight; no one was coming to her rescue because no one could hear her. _

_Voices started whispering in the air around her, nothing she could make out as it was a language she couldn't understand, the blizzard and fog effectively blocking out the oncoming sunrise. She heard the vampire laugh cruelly at her despair._

_Something compelled her to phase back so she did, amazed when she was still wearing her previous outfit and that had stayed intact. _

_The pain grew more intense and kept her from getting up. It was an effort to even breathe. Sobs raked her body as she hugged herself, rocking back and forth, trying to lessen the growing pain._

_The leech walked slowly towards her, crouching down so they were at eye level. He reached out and wiped at the trail of tears on her cheek, almost tenderly, as a he smiled unnaturally down at her. She flinched at his touch, but didn't have the energy to try and pull away, crying out when he tugged violently at her matted hair._

_"Tsk tsk, little puppy, not so strong without her family", he taunted, smirking. _

_He leaned closer to her face, an evil gleam in his eye as he bared his razor sharp teeth. She cried out trying to wiggle away, but her body had shut down. He let out a dry chuckle and caressed her cheek. _

_"Pretty girl, don't be frightened", he purred, nuzzling against her neck. The tears were freely streaming down her face now and she closed her eyes, just wanting it to be over._

_Without warning he tore into her jugular, cutting off her scream as her throat filled with her own blood._

She jolted upright with a savage scream, her hand immediately flying up to her neck. Panting heavily, she squinted at her surroundings. _My room_, she thought disbelievingly, blinking furiously to accommodate the darkness. She felt around with her hands. Sheets. Pillows. Stuffed animals. _My bed_.

_It was a dream. No, a nightmare._

She steadied her breath, forcing down the lump in her throat.

Her ears were ringing, but she could make out the thundering footsteps coming down the hall.

The door to her room burst open, barely staying on its hinges as her mother stormed in, a wild look in her eyes. Upon seeing her daughter safe and sound, if a little shook up and sitting in her bed with wide eyes, she calmed herself down a bit and entered the room.

"My baby!" she gasped, rushing to Talae's bedside, sitting down and cupping her face, making her child look her in the eye, "Are you okay? Nukkah, answer me."

The use of her middle name made her snap out of the daze she was in and her eyes finally focused on her mother's, "yeah, yeah I'm fine. Nightmare."

"Oh sweetie," her mom breathed, wiping Talae's face free of the tears she hadn't noticed falling, drawing her in for a comforting hug.

"It felt so real," she murmured, breathing in her mothers scent; strawberry tea and fresh linen. That always soothed her when she was a kid, waking up in the middle of the night and making a mad dash for her parents' bed, squeezing in between them and stealing their covers.

"I know honey, it's over now", Lily shushed, stroking her hair.

"Did I wake you?" she asked after a moment as her mother let her go.

"Oh it's okay sweetheart. Your dad is still snoring like a rhino upstairs and didn't hear a thing. It's a mother-thing," she chuckled and kissed her forehead, "now go back to sleep".

"I'll try. Thanks mom," she smiled and let her mother tug her in.

Talae lied still listening as Lily closed the door and walked back upstairs, the floorboards creaking ever so slightly under her weight. Then everything became silent once again and she lied awake, dreading the sleep she'd otherwise eagerly let in. It _had_ felt real. The pain, the dread. The vampire biting into her neck.

She shuddered and pulled the cover up under her chin, shifting to lie on her side and drawing her knees up towards her chest.

Even though she had her eyes closed and she was tired, she was totally sleepless. For fifteen minutes at the most had she stayed in that fetal position, before she tossed and turned multiple times for what felt like hours.

Eventually she fell into a restless daze, not really asleep but not awake either, a state where she was free of dreams, but would wake up tired as her mind found no peace. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

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><p>His body relaxed as his eyes opened again, slightly glazed over. He let out a loud sigh and blinked, before focusing on the blonde girl standing in front of him.<p>

"Well?" Zoya questioned impatiently, tapping her small foot on the concrete floor of the lighthouse.

"Will be tough one to crack, will need much time," Fedir answered, wrapping his arms around her as she sat on his lap. Her fingers played with the buttons on his shirt as he pushed the hair out of her face and kissed her cheek.

"I will call Aro in a moment then," she sighed, leaning into his touch, "what about the other one?"

"The young one? Yes, is strong too, might take long this mission," he murmured, moving his lips along her jaw.

She sighed again, tilting her head as his mouth moved lower.

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading, remember to review, just a simple 'liked it' always brightens my day! 8D<strong>


	16. Chapter 15

**So, here's a new chapter for ya'll! It's a short one, but what do you expect with 3 reviews on the last chapter, eh? As always, I have another one almost done, so you know what that means! Review review review! :) And, tell me how you feel about lemons, because one is definitely coming up, don't worry, it'll stay classy! Also, I'm short a beta it seems, so this is un-betaed. If anyone wants to take up the mantle the position's free!**

**Thanks to the three of you who reviewed the last chapter, it was very much appreciated! Alright, onwards! **

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><p>Chapter 15<p>

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><p>"And I swear, I could feel his pointy teeth sinking into my skin," Talae shuddered when she thought about it. Embry rubbed comforting circles on her back, giving her a careful smile.<p>

"Gross," Seth made a face, trying to imagine it.

They were all sitting in the Black resident's small living room, the TV set on a football game. It was Sunday and most of the pack was cramped in the small room, lounging on both furniture and floor, chips and soda littering the small coffee table. Talae had just finished telling them about her dream, the one that she had the night before. The one she was still tired from.

She was sitting in between Jacob and Embry on the couch, feeling quite snug.

"I know right," she whined, hugging her arms around herself with another shiver. She felt sick when she thought about it too much.

"Poor baby," Jacob teased, drawing her in with one arm and kissing the top of her head, all without taking his eyes off the game. She snuggled into his side, seeking comfort in his warmth.

"Toughen up cupcake," Leah said from her spot in a fold-out chair as she popped another Pringles in her mouth, "bad dreams are a given in this kind of business."

"Doesn't make it more bearable, stupid," Talae stuck her tongue out at her and chucked a saltine at her head.

Leah ducked and made a rude face at her before they both laughed as the guys stared at them.

Quil got up with a groan, "Well, I gotta run, and so do you Seth."

Seth grabbed his cell phone, "Aw man, already? Damn. Alright, see you guys later."

They both said their goodbyes as left the house for their patrol. Talae could hear them greet Hunter and Charlotte on their way out of the house.

"Hey guys," Charlotte said quietly as she and Hunter walked into the room.

Hunter just smiled and waved as he sat down on Seth's previous spot on the floor. Charlotte took up the chair matching Leah's.

They watched the game in silence for a while, the guys and Leah cheering when their team got a touchdown. It was all very mundane and normal.

It was _perfect_.

Hunter shivered were he sat, the same disgusted shiver that Talae had running through her whenever she thought about that dream. She noticed when he did again five minutes later, and frowned in confusion.

"Hunter, are you cold?" she asked, her maternal instinct kicking in. She knew he wasn't cold, it was physically impossible, but she had to say something.

He turned his head to look at her, his face in a slight grimace, "No, just thinking about this weird, creepy dream I had last night…"

That only deepened the frown on her brow, "Huh. Join me in the kitchen?" She held up an empty soda can and shook it, then threw a quick look at an empty bowl on the coffee table.

He got the hint, "Sure."

She untangled herself from Jacob's arm, and kissed his cheek, snorting and rolling her eyes at him when he waved her away, eyes glued to the screen. She nudged his leg so she could get around him as Hunter picked himself up off the floor. Picking up several empty cans and an empty bowl, she followed the tall boy into the small kitchen.

"So, tell me about your dream," she started, throwing out the cans and rummaging the cupboards for more snacks.

"It was about that big, white-haired leech that broke your hip," Hunter ran his tongue over his teeth as if trying to get rid of a nasty taste, "and it was more a nightmare than anything. He even bit me."

"Huh," she hummed, almost glaring at the bag of chips she was pouring. She turned around and scrutinized his towering figure. He nervously ran a hand over his buzz-cut short hair under her stare. Even though he was only 15 he had the body of a full-grown man, a serious weight-lifter at that. Nearly every wolf did. But unlike most of them, Hunter had almost ashen-brown skin opposed to the traditional caramel nuance of the Quileute, something he had inherited from his mother's Nubian side of the family, along with his full lips and wide nose. He _was_ quiet the looker.

"What?" he finally caved, laughing tensely as she cocked her hip and crossed her arms over her chest.

"That's not funny you know," she said on her way to the fridge, getting out the last six-pack of coke.

"What isn't funny?" he sounded genuinely confused.

"Teasing me about that dream, it was really disgusting. When did you hear anyway, I only just told it to the others", she rolled her eyes, leaning against the counter.

"_What_ are you talking about, I'm not teasing you, I really had that dream," he argued, crossing his arms too, "wait, what was _your_ dream about?"

"_I _had a _nightmare_ about that white-haired dude biting me and conjuring ghosts and shit".

"Ghosts? You mean that _creepy_ thing when his shadow got all…" he raised his arms above his head and ducked his head, wiping them around as he tried to mimic the ghastly creature they had apparently both seen.

"Yes! Oh my god, did we have the same nightmare? What the hell? Is that even possible?"

"This is… I don't know, this is really freaky, scary even. Should we tell Jacob?" he said kind of hushed, jerking his head backwards, indicating towards their 'fearless' leader.

She stretched her neck, looking out into the living room. Jacob was still watching the game intently, showing no sign that he had heard their conversation. If she was lucky then maybe the TV was drowning out their hushed whispers, or maybe he was really focused on following the game, or maybe _both._

"No, it might be nothing. He's got enough on his plate right now. It's most likely nothing," she nodded her head as she tried to assure herself, speaking quietly now, "so try not to think about it when you're on patrol."

"Okay, if you think so…" he shivered, making a 'yuck'-sound, "Ugh. I just hope I never have that dream again."

"I second that," she snorted and handed him the six-pack she had been holding, then following him back into the living room.

She sat down in her previous spot, grabbing a handful of fresh chips. Jacob put his arm back around her, shortly squeezing her into his side, kissing the top of her head, before stealing the chips right out of her hand.

"Hey!" she gasped, swatting his hand away when he went for it the second time, "get your own."

He huffed and leaned forward to pick up the whole bowl instead. Embry leaned heavily against her, reaching into the bowl in Jacob's lap, squashing her smaller body between their massively muscled ones.

"Can't. Breathe", she wheezed, quickly drawing in a deep, dramatic breath when Embry finally pulled back with a teasing grin.

"Sorry," he laughed, munching on the crispy treats. She shoved him with all her might, _nearly_ pushing him over the armrest as he continued laughing at her.

Willing to avoid being constantly crushed between the two guys, she hijacked the bowl and placed it in her lap, enabling them both to reach without any discomfort on her side. Quite satisfied with the little arrangement she chose to ignore the rolling eyes she got from Embry, and sat back to watch the rest of the game.

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><p><strong>Alright, you know the drill people, review! Remember, the simple "I like it" is just as appreciated as a whole paragraph :)<strong>


	17. Chapter 16

**Hello dearies! So, I've got a new chapter for you! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, it means so much! Special thanks to _OcToPiRsQuIsH_y, my new beta, since my other one just.. kinda disappeared? So thanks to them!**

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><p>Chapter 16<p>

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><p><em>"You know me, you know me all too well<em>

_My only desire - to bridge our division"_

The music was blaring through the house, and if it hadn't been for the fact that is was Saturday, the neighbours would probably have been banging on the front door complaining. Somehow Talae had managed to convince her parents to spend the afternoon and evening in Port Angeles. To be honest, they both needed to get out more anyway, so they had gone without a fuss**.**

_"In sorrow I speak your name_

_And my voice mirrors my torment"_

Humming along with the chorus, she walked out of the bathroom into her messy room, dressed in nothing but a towel, using a smaller one to dry her hair. Brushing aside a small pile of clothes that had missed the hamper with her foot, she opened awindow, letting in a fresh mid-April breeze. With a flick of her wrist, the towel came loose and dropped to the floor. Reaching into the top drawer of her dresser she pulled out a pair of lime-green 'boy shorts' panties with purple polka-dots in them. Fishing into the back of the drawer, she located and pulled out a plain, black bra - that in no way matched the panties, but who was going to see them?

_"Seek me, For comfort _

_Call me, For solace_

_I'll be waiting, For the end of my broken heart"_

"For the end of my _brooooken heeeeeeaaart_!", she screamed along with the last sentence as she pulled on the boy shorts and bra, sprayed on deodorant when the music switched to a dub step, electronic song with a heavy beat. It was the kind of song that lured your body into moving rhythmically, and she let it capture her, snapping her hips to the beat of the music. Not once did her scar-lined hip hurt, proving that it had healed properly and was stronger than ever. She bent over and shook her head furiously, air-drying her hair in the process . She glanced at the clock on her wall - it read 17:28. _Plenty of time,_ she thought and rubbed her face with moisturizing lotion.

In half an hour Leah and Charlotte were going to storm her home, carrying loads of candy, chips and soda, for all their nourishment needs. Girls' Night was _on_. She'd already cleaned up and prepared the living room, throwing several blankets and pillows on the couch and floor, and rented a ton of horror and action movies.

The past week had been rough… to say the least. Her hip and ribs was fine, but Talae just couldn't seem to catch a break lately. Just a couple of days after the hip-incident was when the nightmares had started. At first she could deal with it, she'd had bad dreams before, no sweat. But now… ten days after she found out that her pack-brother shared her night terrors, she was almost at her rope's end.

Bypassing any socks, she pulled on a pair of very low-riding, black sweatpants and grabbed her hairbrush, dancing around bare-footed while running it through her now half-dry-ish mane of hair.

Good thing she had a redundant nervous system, or she would have gone totally bonkers from sleep deprivation by now. The worst thing was the content of the damn dreams. Always the same evil, white-haired vampire haunted her, the stupid bastard that had attacked her that night. Sometimes his blonde,malicious sidekick joined in the torture and she'd wake up screaming. Fuck, even afternoon napping was off limits!

She wasn't sure if it was serious, if the maiming had left some emotional scars she wasn't aware off, or _whatever _it was. When she had started voicing her concerns to Jacob – mostly because he'd nagged it out of her when he started sensing her constant state of exhaustion – he'd of course been sceptical that it was anything serious; after all, if was just nightmares, they couldn't hurt you. He got his dad to recite all kinds of ancient Quileute ways for the restless to find peaceful sleep. None of which worked, sadly.

Done with her hair she threw the brush ontobed and picked the damp towel upoff the floor, flinging it over the bathroom door to dry. As she felt the humidity go lower and the cold of the evening filling up the room, she turned to the window to shut it.

"Argh!" she staggered backwards in shock, her hand flying to her heart, "What the crap are you doing?"

A certain black-haired _boy_ was leaning in her bedroom window, resting his arms on the frame with a big, cheeky grin plastered on his all too handsome face.

"What?" he laughed, "Did I interrupt something?"

"You pervert! How long have you been standing there?" she gasped and turned the stereo down before walking to the window. She slid the glass-pane a little higher, just enough so he could crawl in. Of course he only had a pair of cut-off shortson.

"Oh, about five or ten minutes," he chuckled, kissing her cheek before launching himself on her bed.

"So… a while," she blushed, realizing she was still in her bra and that he'd probably seen her dance around in her undies. _Great_.

"Yeeeaaah," he threw her a lop-sided grin, bobbing his head slowly up and down, all smug-like.

Face-palming herself, she let out an embarrassed sigh, "Fantastic. What the hell are you doing here anyway?"

He managed to get himself off of the bed and walked up to her, grabbing her by the hips, caressing the scar that marred her hipwith his thumb, "I just finished patrol and thought I'd come check up on you."

"Check up on me? Jake, I'm not a child," she glared at him, softly placing her hands on his chest as he pulled her body into his, "Besides, I have company coming over."

"Come on, I know that," he rolled his eyes before cupping her cheek and brushing his thumb lightly over it, "How are you feeling?"

She smiled, touched by his concern, "I'm okay, for now. I got in half an hour dream-free sleep, earlier. I'm holding up so far".

"Good. Now, who's coming over?" he murmured, leaning down to nuzzle her neck, placing feather-light kisses on her skin.

A contented sigh escaped her lips as she leaned her head left, giving him better access, "It's just Lee and Char, and they'll be here any minute, so you need to leave."

"Mhm, okay," he hummed, nibbling on her bare shoulder, easing the strap of her bra off for more play-space. She whimpered quietly when he bit down on the juncture of her neck and shoulder, slightly digging her fingertips into his exposed chest.

"Jake," she gasped, loosing control over the desire growing in her gut, "Jacob, I'm serious."

His teeth left her shoulder as he snorted against her skin, and ran his tongue over the indentations in her flesh, "Fine."

He sounded awfully disappointed. She chuckled and pulled back as he pushed the bra-strap back up, "It's _Girls' Night_."

"Arh," he rolled his eyes, "then I don't _wanna_ stay." He pulled her in for a hug, kissing the top of her head, "I'll just go home, eat pizza and be all by my lonesome self." He sighed dramatically and laughed when she slapped his arm.

"Don't make me feel bad, you douche," she teased before pecking him on the lips, "you are, however, invited over for dinner tomorrow."

"What are we having?"

"What do you mean _'what are we having_'? Isn't it enough that we feed you for free?" she mock gasped, slapping him on the other arm. He chuckled and drew her in for another short kiss.

"By the way," he said stepping away from her and jerked his hips left and right a couple of times, "I love the way you _shake it_." She gaped at him as he laughed at her, "Oh come on, I thought it was _very_ sexy!"

"You're a jerk, Jacob Black," she pouted, searching the room for a t-shirt to wear.

"Ouch," he chuckled, clutching his chest for effect, "so vicious."

"Ha-ha," she smiled and rolled her eyes, finally finding a semi-clean, oversized t-shirt. Meh, she was probably going to spill something on it anyway.

"You're such a slob," he snickered when she pulled it over her head, "aw, I liked the view."

"Yeah yeah, you're very funny," she ushered him out the room and towards the back door, "now get out before I throw you out."

"Fine," he huffed, unlocking the door, "what time tomorrow?"

"Come over around four, we can hang out before dinner," she shrugged, standing in the doorway as he walked out onto the porch.

"Okay," he grinned, turning around to give her a quick kiss, "see you tomorrow."

"Bye Jake," she smiled, watching him bound off the deck and across the backyard, stopping at the tree line to wave at her before disappearing into the woods.

She couldn't stop the stupid smile on her lips from widening and taking over her face. It was funny how all her troubles seemed to melt away in the glow of his warm presence; just seeing him made her feel a whole lot better. Shaking her head, she re-locked the door and wandered into the living room. After pulling her hair into a loose ponytail, she pulled the curtains over the windows, shutting out all natural light, andinstead lighting a couple of dim table-lamps, just enough so you could see where you were going.

Several loud knocks sounded from the hallway when she turned on the TV.

"The door's open!" she shouted as she turned the TV to DVD.

"Yo Tee!" Leah shouted as the front door opened. She kicked off her shoes and walked straight to the kitchen with several plastic bags in her hands.

"Hey Tee," Charlotte called from the hallway, taking off her own shoes, then politely put both hers and Leah's on the shoe rack.

"Hey guys, make yourselves at home," she called back, pulling out the rented DVD's so they could chose what to watch first.

She walked out into the hallway and gave Charlotte a one-armed hug, "how was patrol?"

The young girl ran a hand through her short hair with a sigh, "we caught that scent again, but there was no other sign of them."

That was a bit unsettling to hear. After the night Talae had her hip smashed to pieces, every now and then they'd catch the scent of the vampires who'd thrown the damn rock. They'd caught sight of them a couple of times, but the blasted monsters always escaped. It was disturbing to say the least. Why the heck were they sticking around?

"Right," Talae nodded, and led Charlotte into the kitchen to join Leah in unpacking and preparing.

"You were out with Embry, right?" she asked, trying to grab a chip from the bowl Leah was pouring a bag-full into. Her hand was swatted away though, and she sent a glare Leah's way while rubbing the sore appendage.

"Yeah, all through the night and early morning. God, and now I know all the words to '_We Didn't Start the Fire' _because he got laid yesterday," Charlotte groaned and rubbed her brow in annoyance.

Leah and Talae laughed until she punched their shoulders in turn. Talae got out the beverages and cups while Leah and Charlotte split up allthe chips and candy into different bowls.

"This is why I love our fast metabolism," Leah grinned as she walked into the dim living room, setting the bowls on the coffee table before throwing herself into one of the two big armchairs on either side of the sofa, restingher feet on the matching ottoman.

"What, the _'eating anything you want and not gain a pound'_-thign? Yeah, I can see why that's appealing," Talae smirked, finally able to pop a chip in her mouth, almost swallowing it whole.

"Guys, what should we watch first?" Charlotte interrupted, holding up Crank and 30 Days of Night.

"_Crank__!_"Leah shouted just as Talae was opening her mouth, "Frankly, I'm a little sick of vampires right now."

Talae snorted, but agreed. Charlotte shrugged her shoulders and slid in the DVD, then joined Talae on the couch. They both dragged their feet up under their butts, and surprisingly enough the couch was just big enough for both oftheir tall figures. They even shared a blanket and a bowl of chips, while Leah enjoyed sitting by herself in the comfy armchair.

"Char, pass the soda," Leah waved her hand towards the 6-pack of Mountain Dew while focusing on the TV-screen, skipping past the trailers with the remote in her hand.

And so commenced an evening of movies, snacking, total relaxation and girl talk.

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><p>"Bye Char! Sleep tight!" Leah shouted and Charlotte turned around on the sidewalk to wave. Talae and Leah both waved enthusiastically back before closing the front door, walking back to the living room to clean up their mess.<p>

It was a little before three in the morning when they'd finish, and both girls had night-patrol. Talae'sparents had decided to rent a hotel room for the night in Port Angeles, saying something about 'old days' and 'romance' when they'd called.

As it was, this was Talae's first _real _night-patrol since she had broken her hip. Long story short, Jacob had been wary to put her on patrol when it was dark and she was alone, trying to protect her from harm. And she wouldn't put up with it, fed up with being treated like a child, like she was a 'special case' needing 'special treatment'. Somewhere in the back of her head she knew Jacob just cared about herand that she shouldn't react too strongly, but her temper meant otherwise, coupled heavily with experience, and the fact that she was a very independent person, a free spirit if you will. She had no illusions that she needed Jacob as much as he probably needed her however. She was well aware of the feelings he stirred in her, sometimes painfully so. But she was a free person, and as long as it wasn't hurting other people, she saw no reason why she couldn't do what she wanted to do.

So they had argued, wrestled, struggled, waged war, andfought. Most battles she had won because Jacob's only defence was that he didn't want her hurt, whereas she had several arguments as to why that was completebullshit. The only reason they had _not_ stopped fighting over it was the fact that they were both extraordinarily pig-headed. So in the end she had to pull the rage-card, seeing as it intimidated him as fuck, which had in turn cost her a few pieces of furniture… and the forest some trees.

So now she was allowed to run one alone with Leah on the other end, and had to promise Jake that she wouldn't engage anyone without calling for help first, and not at all if the vamps were more than two. The compromise worked well, so far; last night's patrol had gone fine, no scents, and no encounters.

She stretched and yawned as she waited for Leah to be done changing to phase-friendly clothing.

Going commando as always when anticipating phasing, Talae had put on some beat-up cut-offs with paint-stains; they had been her dad's, but since he spattered it with paint that wouldn't come out, he'd thrown them her way, knowing she could put them to good use. And an old tie-dye shirt of her mothers with a wide neckline, easy to pull over her head in a hurry. Shoes didn't exist in a shape-shifter's vocabulary. She'd taken to the way of keeping her clothes with her in wolf-form, like the rest of the La Push wolves, with the elastic string around her calf. It was more practical now that the snow was gone and didn't soak her pelt. Leah emerged from Talae's room wearing pretty much the same attire and yawned, "God, if I could get out of this I would."

"You could just let me patrol on my own", Talae shrugged her shoulders, unlocking the backdoor.

"Ha-ha, very funny," Leah rolled her eyes, pushing her friend out the door and down the porch steps.

"Just sayin'," Talae mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest as Leah closed the door and locked it, hiding the key under a potted plant nearby.

"Then stop saying stuff, you imbecile," she snorted, pushing Talae by the shoulders towards the tree line when she slacked behind. They stripped, tied their clothes to their legs and phased smoothly.

Talae shook out her long fur and huffed, _"Shut up._"

_"So does your face_,"Leah said, bumping her shoulder against Talae's as they ran deeper into the woods.

_"That doesn't make any sense, you ass_," she rolled her eyes, ducking around a tree, playfully tackling Leah, sending her into a thicket of vines and something looking like poison ivy.

_"So does your face! Hah!" _Leah laughed as she came barrelling out of the bushes, butting her head against Talae's side. Not nearly enough to hurt her,but enough to send her stumbling and tripping over her own feet. She ended up falling into a partially thick patch of grass, taking a fallen, old log to the paw. She yelped and rolled into her stomach when coming to a stand still.

_"Ouch," she_ frowned, licking her sore paw. It stopped hurting and just throbbed, like a stubbed toe.

_"Shit, sorry Tee, I didn't mean to hurt you, are you alright?_" Leah whined, nudging the white wolf with her snout. Talae stood up with ease though, groaned in her head and pulled away from her friend.

"_Damnit Lee, not you too_," she snapped with a frustrated growl, "_a fucking tackle isn't going to fucking kill me_." She was tired of being treated like a brittle-boned cripple. She wasn't mad at Leah per say, but she didn't like the idea that Jacob's overly-protectiveness had spilled on over to the others, much less to Leah of all people. She was supposed to be on _her _side. For fucks sake, her paw didn't even hurt anymore!

"_Chill missy, I didn't mean anything by it_," Leah tried, tugging her tail slightly between her legs and backing up. But parts of a conversation she had with Jacob slipped through her mind; him making his beta promise to look after his imprint, threatening her with everything he could think of doing if she failed.

"_Leah! God fucking damnit! I'm going to shove my foot so far up his ass he's going to taste my shoelace!_" she snarled, flexing her claws as the anger slowly built up inside her. Damn, she was acting like she did before she phased for the first time; throwing temper tantrums, getting into fights, lashing out over the smallest things. And it wasn't as if she liked being an angry bitch, she was naturally a quiet, friendly person. She blamed Jacob. All of it: Jacob's fault. Okay, she didn't _blame him_- blame him, she just... She was frustrated.

Sure life was way better in Washington than in Anchorage, but also _a lot_ more complicated.

"_Hey dude, I'm on your side, I just don't want shit-ass assignments, and I don't like being ordered around either, but hey, we have a hierarchy_," Leah backed further away from the increasingly fuming white she-wolf, "_just, calm down okay? You can beat him up after patrol, alright? Let's get this over with before you kill me in blind fury, _please."

Talae snarled, but eased up her tensed stance, "_Fine_." She temporarily stored her outrage away so she could focus on the job at hand, but it still sat festering in the back of her mind.

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><p><strong>There it is! Please review, you know how little I require :D I have several chapter ready to be beta'd, so more reviews is, as always, faster update! Tah-tah!<strong>


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